Africa has seen incredible changes over the past decade with the rise of the Silicon Savannah. Information and technology hubs and innovation incubators have been popping up all over the place producing some cutting-edge start-ups with revolutionary ideas.
Unlike Silicon Valley, with its roots in quantum physics and semiconductors, tech in Sub-Saharan Africa is more consumer-driven— allowing citizens to access basic services ranging from education to healthcare by the touch of a button on a mobile device.
Technology and connectivity platforms are transforming the development landscape in Africa,’ says Hadley Harris, MD of the Futuretell Group.
“The ICT sector has fuelled economic growth in both urban and rural areas, and it is playing a great role in poverty alleviation and improving the quality of many lives,” he says. “It has spurred an entrepreneurial spirit in deploying a number of digital initiatives that simply ‘leapfrogs” legacy infrastructural limitations, and addresses a desperate need within communities.”
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“Technological innovation has created a multiple benefit pipeline of creating opportunity for small business, which in turn improves the standard of living for all,” Harris adds. Harris is a beneficiary of The Innovator Trust, which was created to support the growth of small black-owned information and communications technology (ICT) businesses in South Africa, through mentorship and skills exchange offered by its enterprise development programmes.
“The Innovators Trust’s vision is to be a significant contributor to the ICT sector through the successful development of small business innovative development processes,” says Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust.
“Through training, mentorship, networking and infrastructure support, the Innovator Trust is assisting in creating ICT leaders of the future,” she says.
The Futuretell Group has grown to include products and services that cover all aspects of ICT infrastructure and office automation, including PABX, VoIP and fibre optic construction.
It is a well -known fact that international investors are acknowledging that ICT entrepreneurs in Africa hold great potential in serving the fastest growing consumer base in the world, and also the critical role “We have inventive minds solving real-world issues here in Africa,” says Harris.
There is no doubt that building up an even stronger ecosystem and developing more investment opportunities in Africa will require firm efforts from both government and the private sector as the continent continues to deal with the challenges of underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of technical skills, inconsistent governance and financing gaps.
“But these challenges are not undefeatable, especially if we accelerate investment,” concludes Harris.
