DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA
DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA:AN UNEVEN AND CHALLENGING L ANDSCAPEDIODE Workshop, Green Templeton College, Oxford, UK10 Oct 2017Dr. Nicolas FriedericiPostdoctoral Researcher, Oxford Internet InstituteContact: nicolas.friederici@oii.ox.ac.uk, riederici/http://cii.oii.ox.ac.uk/author/nicolas/
Motivation:Developing an economic geography of African digital entrepreneurshipPopular discoursesAcademic researchGlobal / general claimsLean Startup,high growth,Cambrian momentClustering &entrepreneurialecosystems,boundaryless digitalentrepreneurshipAfrica-specific claimsInternet CTD lit?RQ:How does digital entrepreneurship as a practice & process that wecommonly associate with the Global North work in African cities?2
3
Alphabet’s valuation Nigeria’s GDPBig five’s valuation 4.5 x Nigeria’s GDPBig five’s valuation 280 x Rwanda’s GDPBig five’s valuation Africa’s GDP4
5
Clustering & evolution of tech entrepreneurship,entrepreneurial ecosystems6
Digital entrepreneurshipDigitization makes entrepreneurship lessspace-/cluster-bound (Autio et al., 2017)Intersection of digital technologies andentrepreneurship (Nambisan, 2016) less bounded entrepreneurial processesand outcomes (generativity & scale) less predefined locus of entrepreneurialagencyPlatform companies like Amazon asglobal digital entrepreneurial ecosystems(Sussan & Acs, 2017)Democratization of entrep (Aldrich, 2014)Grassroots innovation, digital fabrication(Seo-Zindy & Heeks, 2017; Smith & Hielscher, 2013)7
Silicon Valley's days leading the tech revolution may be coming toan end.The future of tech "will be written in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala andcities across Africa," Jeremy Johnson the CEO and founder ofAndela told CNBC. "We believe that Africa is going to emerge as avery significant player in the global tech scene," he said.Companies are increasingly comfortable with teams that arewidely distributed, he said “that I think is flattening out the worldeven more.”Increased internet penetration, mass urbanization and growth insmartphone adoption, combined with rapid population growth,has made Africa very attractive to investors."Entrepreneurship is native to Ghana, and now, with an influx ofresources, an increasingly educated population, and access totechnology — new businesses, start-ups and social enterprises, areemerging en masse to try and solve some of the challenges here,"Also cf., Eric Osiakwan’s KINGS arguments, anaging-partner-chanzo-capital-8a72f874032e8
The laying of the first fiber-optic cable heralded a newchapter for cheaper telecommunication access. With it,opportunities to mainstream Internet access were created,such as start-up hubs where entrepreneurs had access tohigh-speed Internet.Africa presents a sea of economic opportunities in virtuallyevery sector, and the continent’s (comparatively youthful)population structure an enormous opportunity in thisdigital era. The demand for online services is increasing,including the digitization of records to improve data visibility. knowledge and technology combined can changesocieties dramatically, creating opportunities that werepreviously unthinkableThere is no doubt that ICTs are changing the Africannarrative: Africa is no longer the Dark Continent. Africa isrising. The rate of change in Africa today as a result of ICTs isunprecedented and cuts across all sectors.From innovations such as M-PESA to large-scale businessprocess outsourcing developments, ICTs are creating jobs,addressing poverty, reducing inequality, and providingmechanisms to monitor and address the SustainableDevelopment Goals.A paradigm shift is underway in Kenya. New innovations aredestroying old ways of doing business, and smart youngstart-up entrepreneurs are at the forefront of this quiet buthistoric transformation.digital entrepreneurship revolution in Africa in the face ofhigh unemployment rates, poverty, lack of technologicalinfrastructure, and disparate cultural interpretations of9entrepreneurialism and risk taking.
entrepreneuring is about breaking out of the old mold ofdusty constraints The ICT revolution is a global and competitivephenomenon that is heralding a new paradigm ofcreativity and innovation in virtually every part of theworld.Now if knowledge production through creative ideas andworld-class innovations provides the competitive edgeover manufacturing in today’s global economy, thenKenya has the opportunity at this point in time to take onan all-new role in the digital economy—from off shorelocation to knowledge creatorinspiring generation of entrepreneurs —a a generationthat is working actively to bring the benefits of the digitalage to every citizen and organization of Africa, unleashingthe power of modern-day technology for the benefit ofsociety.a generation that seeks to help create a brighter future fullof opportunities and possibilities for the many generationsto comestrong and visionary “itch” to overcome and removeprevailing constraints so as to allow change, progress, anddevelopment to occur—not just for the benefit of theindividual entrepreneur but also to unleash atransformation for the benefit of all.new and empowering values that center on thecapabilities and agency of the individual. Disruption,creativity, and innovation become the central tenets of anew era.10
Highlights from related litAker, 2010; Aker & Mbiti, 2010; Avgerou, 2003; Burrell & Oreglia, 2015;Carmody, 2013; Foster et al., 2017; Friederici et al., 2016; Maurer, 2012;Kleibert, 2016; Lundvall & Lema, 2015; Murphy & Carmody, 2015.See also Graham (ed.), Digital Economies at Global Margins, MIT Press. “Thintegration:” Africa as acustomer, no local R&D,incremental rather thantransformational effects of ICTs Consultancies, corporations,development organizations asneutral observers & enablers vs.as self-interested influencers Unequal benefits: more affluent& more powerful appear tobenefit more (at least in detailoriented studies)11
Our work so ship/12
Research designComparative case study design Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa due toshared connectivity history, discursivecontext, & high number of low-incomecountries Three in-depth case studies:Lagos, Nairobi, Kigali 8-11 breadth-oriented cases:Accra, Kampala, Maputo, Gaborone,Johannesburg/Pretoria, Dakar,Abidjan, othersEmphasis on interviews to combinedepth & breadth13
High-level findingsCity-level differences: kindand degree of digitalentrepreneurship Massive differences inentrepreneurial capacity Different business models Kigali far from levelactivity in Lagos & NairobiWhat’s underlying thedifferences? All aboutiterative, experientialtechnical & entrepreneuriallearning Individual: entrepreneurialknowledge, maturity Enterprise: differentiation,local adaptation,specialization Ecosystem: interactivelearning, networks,communitiesCheck volution-an-enterpriseperspective/ for blog post with some descriptive findings on firm-level14
Entrepreneurial motivations & mindsetsThe infrastructure is still waiting to be built here. I commit tothe universe. Money is nice but for me, once you have a basicamount of money that you can live and be okay and not have torely on anybody. I’m a capitalist, I’m not a socialentrepreneur. It’s not about how many people have youtouched. No, the business must be profitable.(Entrepreneur in Lagos)I’m also growing up, so maybe something is happening in mybrain where you forget about idealism somewhere.(Entrepreneur in Nairobi)Us, we believe that we are the people who are going to makethis country develop Other fellow youth are just sitting there,waiting for the country to do everything I, as a youngentrepreneur—I see it as a contribution to the nationaldevelopment. and just giving something big to the country.(Entrepreneur in Kigali)15
Local markets I:Software competing / complementingglobal incumbentsChances are anything built in Kampala, has already been builtbetter for Kenya. It would be hard to make it compete.Specifically, when you’re doing a largely software company, it’s aflat market You’re not selling shoes, you’re selling FarmVille,right? Everybody's trying to make Amazon for Africa, Airbnbfor Africa. Well, Amazon and Airbnb are already effective andwould be hard to beat.(Entrepreneur in Kigali)We were like, look, you guys are paying 2,000 for [the globalincumbent’s solution], here is almost the same: beautiful design,fantastic data; I’m going to charge you 300. Companies werelike: “But you don’t have functionality of [the global incumbent].I’d look at these guys and I’m like, wait you’re willing to pay 2,000 for a Lamborghini to sit in Nairobi traffic?(Entrepreneur in Nairobi)16
Local markets II: Adaptation(Localization, differentiation,experimentation, experiential learning)I feel like I’m wearing my little white coat every dayand tweaking things. So we assume certain things then how can we test those hypotheses in the leastcostly way possible (Entrepreneur in Nairobi)let me just give it a shot and he paid the moneyimmediately. The next person, I did the same so I justrealized with Nigerians, you have to do some drasticthings, and then we’ve used that ever since.(Entrepreneur in Lagos)It’s not like you launch something in Uganda andimmediately you have applications with Sudan. Iactually think that, the concept of these startups thatwork across Africa without having modifications isnot really realistic.(Entrepreneur in Kigali)Cf., also Quinones, Heeks, Nicholson, 201717
Entrepreneurial knowledge & missing middle of technical skillWe didn’t have the expertise, so it took quite a while If you're dealing with folks that areinexperienced, [trying to put] square pegs through round holes, you just can't grow.(Entrepreneur in Lagos)We were with a Kenyan self-taught developer for 2.5years, who is great for where he learned his skills butnow we’ve got this French guy who is just a superstar. (Entrepreneur in Nairobi)I mean, what we spend on human resource as acompany a month, is less than what it would cost to[hire?] one talented dev But you know what? Thetech capacity in Rwanda, specifically is zero out ofa million. In Nairobi, it's way better but still not, in myopinion, to the point where they're able to compete toglobal best standards It's really, I think, naive of allthis tech hub, Africa Rising enthusiasm, to think that,software engineers who are 20 years behind can bethe ones who create world leaders. We have like areally good relationship with this Polish team.(Entrepreneur in Kigali)18
Preliminary conclusions Key findings1. Complex & contextual motivations & mindsets2. a) Local markets: complementation/competition2. b) Adaptation Localization, differentiation,experimentation, experiential learning3. Entrepreneurial knowledge & missing middle of skill New opportunity and innovation Local demand from accessible markets willremain the driver of digital entrepreneurship Not helpful to think of digital entrepreneurshipas a globally homogenous phenomenon Creative and opportunity-oriented softwareproduction in low-income contexts cannot beexpected to swiftly kick off economictransformation and inclusive growth19
Thank you!Dr. Nicolas FriedericiPostdoctoral Researcher, Oxford Internet InstituteContact: nicolas.friederici@oii.ox.ac.uk, riederici/http://cii.oii.ox.ac.uk/author/nicolas/
Policy & practice Do not fall for the idea that African digital enterprises will compete incommodified global digital markets (e.g., software, devices). The mostopportunity may lie in locally and regionally oriented innovations, addressingunique market conditions and problems. Digital entrepreneurship and innovation is a long-term game. Given the importance of learning and adaptation, maybe we should not speak of a digitalentrepreneurship revolution, but rather of an evolution. The earlier the process starts in a given locale, the better, but it will take time and hard workto materialize in the form of widespread wealth. Sustainable, innovative early lead firms/organizations are essential, as they createenvironments for entrepreneurial and technical learning. In the absence of established lead organizations, digital enterprises andsupporters (governments, hubs, etc.) should enable in-depth and experientiallearning rather than creating appearances or focusing on quantity (e.g., “no. ofhubs”). When faced with a choice, focus less on light-touch initiatives (hackathons, bootcamps,etc.) and more on enabling tacit knowledge creation (incentivized mentorship programs,vocational training, apprenticeships, internships, etc.). It will be tough to create vibrant digital entrepreneurship ecosystems in rural orperi-urban environments. It is also very hard in smaller cities.21
Questions to you What is particularly interesting? What are we missing? What do we need to work on? Who else is working on these topics? Who should weconnect to? Should we focus on economic geography or also targetentrepreneurship studies & management scholars?22
Findings so far: hubsI can make the dissertation available to you upon request23
24
Hubs & Community AssemblyDifferent & distanttechnology entrepreneursand partnersEntrepreneurialcommunities25
African digital entrepreneurship?Emerging work by DIODE network, Richard Boateng & JosephBudu (U of hop/indonesiaworkshop-presentations/Related topics (innovation systems & clusters, entrepreneurshipin general, entrepreneurial networks, inclusive/frugal innovation)but nothing on African digital entrepreneurship per seIf you know of other references, please let me know!26
Clustering of tech entrepreneurship,entrepreneurial ecosystems Clustering of tech entrepreneurship, parallel specialization anddiversification, entrepreneurial culture (Bresnahan, Gambardella, &Saxenian, 2001; Saxenian, 1994) Networks, ecology of organizations, firm practices determiningregional advantage (Storper et al., 2015; Kemeny et al., 2016) Double-edged geography of digital economies: creativeproduction in local ecosystems, distributed/far-flung distribution& marketing of digital products (Malecki & Moriset, 2007) Individual & collective agency in early moments ofclusters/ecosystems (Feldman et al., 2005); co-evolution (Pitelis, 2012) Importance of mobile human capital, re-pats, “Argonauts”(Saxenian, 2006) Relational & entrepreneur-focused view of ecosystems,entrepreneurial resrouces, extending cluster & innovationsystems lit (Spigel, 2015; Stam, 2015; Stam & Spigel, 2017)27
Development potential of digitalentrepreneurship Technological products & services are developed, makinglocal economies more efficient (link to ICTD) Value creation happens inherently within and for the“local,” and by/for small, “grassroots” actors At the same time, a global embedding happens and globalcompetitiveness can be achieved (though this is not furtherspecified) Dual development effect: venture creation (employment,taxes, etc.) & locally suitable products, “solving problems” Through entrepreneurship, economic development isenvisioned to be consonant with empowerment, freedom,independence, risk, self-responsibility28
Digital entrepreneurship Digitization makes entrepreneurship less space-/cluster-bound (Autio et al., 2017) Intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship (Nambisan, 2016) less bounded entrepreneurial processes and outcomes (generativity & scale) less predefined locus of entrepreneurial agency Platform companies like Amazon as
To define the entrepreneurship. To explain the significance of Entrepreneurship. To explain the Entrepreneurship Development. To describe the Dynamics of Entrepreneurship Development. 1.1 Need and significance of Entrepreneurship Development in Global contexts It is said that an economy is an effect for which entrepreneurship is the cause.
Digital entrepreneurship is the phenomenon associated with digital entrepreneurial activity. While the expressions ‘ICT entrepreneurship’ and ‘digital entrepreneurship’ are widely used, we have opted to use only the expression ‘digital entrepreneurship’ in this
identify and describe characterizations of technology entrepreneurship, digital techno-logy entrepreneurship, and digital entrepreneurship. With this new delineation of terms, we would like to foster discussion between researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers on the impact of digitization on entrepreneurship, and set a future research agenda.
Johannesburg, South Africa Auckland Park Theological Seminary Polokwane, South Africa Taberna Dei Academy Kempton Park, South Africa Kaleideo Congregation Centurion, South Africa AFM of South Africa Witrivier, South Africa Africa School of Missions Irene, South Africa Full Gospel Church of God College Cullinan, South Africa Berea Bible School
Digital entrepreneurship is a sub group of entrepreneurship which involves digitalization methods in the functioning of its activities. Hence, digital entrepreneurship is related to digital business activities along with some digital goods and services (Clyde Hull, 2006).
disruptive technologies of the digital era have increased the speed of innovation and created new ways of performing entrepreneurial activities (Thukral et al., 2008; Yoo et al., 2012). Digitalization has allowed digital entrepreneurship to emerge. Digital entrepreneurship has changed the way in which we view entrepreneurship.
management in Africa 3. Community involvement in natural resources management in Africa – regional overviews 3.1 Introduction: Different understandings of, and approaches to, CBNRM in different regions 3.2 Central Africa 3.3 East Africa 3.4 Southern Africa 3.5 West Africa 3.6 Summary 4. What has CBNRM achieved in Africa? The ‘3Es .
Am I My Brother's Keeper? On Personal Identity and Responsibility Simon Beck Abstract The psychological continuity theory of personal identity has recently been accused of not meeting what is claimed to be a fundamental requirement on theories of identity - to explain personal moral responsibility. Although they often have much to say about responsibility, the charge is that they cannot say .
