John Thornhill writes that “Europe’s entrepreneurs don’t expect much from their political leaders” in a candid evaluation of Europe’s start-up ecosystem (“Europe Inc must scale up or risk becoming a museum”, Opinion, November 21).
If this is so, Africa’s entrepreneurs could also be justified in expecting even less. While Europe struggles with reasserting its technological relevance, Africa faces a more fundamental hurdle: establishing it in the primary place.
Each regions share the challenge of regulatory fragmentation, but Africa’s entrepreneurs also contend with unreliable infrastructure, a dearth of capital and the absence of a standard currency and single market.
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement offers hope, but when innovation and tech entrepreneurship are amongst the important thing levers that drive economic and social progress, then it’s imperative to take co-ordinated motion to unleash Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
Operationalising the AfCFTA for the continent’s tech start-ups particularly — by expanding digital free zones that simplify cross-border regulations, for instance — could facilitate pan-African expansion and help innovation-driven enterprises scale more seamlessly.
Like Europe, Africa must find its own path to increased global competitiveness and innovation-led growth. Unlike Europe, nonetheless, Africa risks becoming not a museum, but a mausoleum of missed opportunities, untapped potential and dreams deferred — unless stakeholders across the continent and the worldwide community work together to unleash its potential.
Emeka Ajene
Managing Director, Africreate, Lagos, Nigeria
