Entrepreneurship and Innovation – is it worth it in Africa?

 

One of the things we are keen to do at lynneknight.org is to help address some of the negative perceptions about business and investment opportunities in Africa. And we will bring you many success stories and positive articles on this. But there are two sides to any story and this interview with one of Kenya’s best known tech investors Ory Okolloh highlights the other side of the story. (http://bit.ly/1S2MRzI).

Okolloh makes some really valid points – the same ones that people who don’t live in Africa sometimes raise with us. Entrepreneurship and innovation is seen by many as a panacea for Africa’s problems. But the truth is that there are a number of things that innovation and entrepreneurship will never fix or completely ‘innovate’ around, such as unreliable power, bureaucratic red tape, poor leadership and corruption. And it’s valid to ask why they should have to.

But does that mean we give up on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation; that we say ‘it’s too hard and we’ll never fix it all’; or ‘it’s only a short term fix and won’t solve all the problems’? Definitely not! And the illustration of the starfish washed up on the beach definitely applies here.  Just because we can’t save them all, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help the ones we can.

man carrying globe

Sure, innovation and entrepreneurship will not ‘fix’ some of the systemic issues Africa is renowned for at a national and continental level. But at INDIGO and through our other lynneknight.org ventures, our aim is to journey with and resource small businesses to help them really fly. And that is totally possible! Flourishing, professional and profitable small businesses enable people to support their families, put their kids through school, give back to their communities, create employment and make a contribution to national economies. And maybe as politicians and policy makers see what their people are achieving, as small business owners lobby their elected representatives and as investors and businesses outside Africa want to get involved, governments will be challenged to deal with some of those bigger systemic issues Okolloh refers to.