Business
For Africa, When Technology And Innovation Meet, Inclusive Growth Follows
African innovation is nothing new. A quick search on the internet will reveal an entire history book of African inventions spanning centuries; from harnessing fire in South Africa 1.4 million years ago, to the invention of the underground water pipe in Ethiopia in 1460 BC, to the modern Kreepy Krauly (an automatic pool cleaner) and the CAT scan.
Popular myth tells us that Africa was a dark and underdeveloped continent until the arrival of European innovation. The truth is, Africans are just as creative, if not more, than anybody else. But as pioneering as their inventions are, the benefits of many are only felt within the immediate community. They don’t receive much attention from the globalcommunity. However, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) means there is now an entirely new platform that can take these inventions to the world. And now, suddenly, African innovation is being noticed.
Technology enables African ideas to be marketed and developed, making them accessible to a far larger audience. This amplification stimulates further investment into the continent, especially its ICT sector, which, in turn, provides much-needed funding and support to develop new ideas and see them through to maturity. MPesa is a great example of a local solution to a local problem. The fact that it’s based on a mobile platform has allowed the idea to catch on all over the world, revolutionizing the payments and banking industry.
Africa’s problems are a fertile breeding ground for innovation. Those who see problems as opportunities can become successful entrepreneurs, by harnessing technology to invent solutions that improve access to education, healthcare and social services. For example, hospitals in Nigeria are often under-equipped and prone to power outages. To overcome this, Dr Seyi Oyesola developed Hospital in a Box, a mobile clinic that operates off solar energy. In Cameroon, local engineer Arthur Zang designed a medical tablet PC, which allows cardiovascular exams to be performed remotely so that patients don’t have to travel long distances.
By taking these grassroots innovations to more communities, technology becomes a great equalizer and enabler. Not only by helping more people though social innovations like Hospital in a Box and providing access to empowering tools like the internet, but as businesses grow around these innovations, they will need to hire more people to manage new territories and develop local skills. This leads to knowledge, job creation and ultimately more inclusive growth.