Transformative tech and social innovation expert N’Gunu Tiny talks about how social entrepreneurship helps communities in Africa.
N’Gunu Tiny, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Emerald Group, is an expert in transformative tech and social innovation. His book Impacting Lives will be published in Fall 2021.
Before the pandemic, Africa was surging ahead with local and national developments across all sectors. And COVID-19 isn’t slowing the emergence of social entrepreneurship that is creating ways out of poverty and empowering Africa’s people.
From technology to healthcare, grassroots organisations and local communities are fighting to improve local economies. Social entrepreneurship is the key to encouraging this level of development throughout the continent.
Social entrepreneurship is the driving force for Africa’s future
With such a massive and diverse population across so many countries, social entrepreneurship allows for small-scale grassroots projects that truly make a difference to people’s lives.
Parts of Africa continue to experience great poverty and COVID-19 is exacerbating this. It can seem impossible for communities to realise their potential under such circumstances. But the right kinds of projects led by social entrepreneurs who find new, innovative ways to create solutions gives us hope.
Young people throughout Africa are creating small businesses that focus on improving the lives of local communities. Innovative solutions for healthcare, pollution, illiteracy, infrastructure and much more. There are no accurate figures at the moment that reflect just how many social enterprises are underway across Africa. However, the sector is growing fast with emerging accelerators and technology hubs across the continent, including in some of the least developed countries such as Chad.
Pandemic is speeding up rate of transformation
In many ways, COVID-19 is accelerating the speed at which social entrepreneurship is changing things in Africa. Data shows that 120 of the vital innovations put in place between July and September 2020 to tackle the global pandemic were developed by innovators in Africa.
And it’s these innovative ideas that will speed up the development of tech-based economies in Africa. Times of prolonged challenge have always historically pushed technology onwards, and for Africa this could be a period of seismic, important changes.
Technologies that have been developed by social entrepreneurs in Africa to fight COVID-19 include:
- Self-diagnosing tools in Angola.
- Contact tracing apps in Ghana.
- Mobile health info tools in Nigeria.
- WhatsApp chatbots in South Africa.
The future of Africa depends on innovation and technology. These are crucial in finding solutions to the major infrastructure problems that exist on the continent. From ensuring inclusive access to tech infrastructure to transforming local communities out of poverty, it’s tech that will make the difference.
Investment is needed to support young entrepreneurs in Africa
According to Moredreck Chibi, who is the Africa regional advisor for innovation for the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is an urgent need for investment in innovation. In an interview with SciDev.Net he said that investment is needed in a fundamental shift of Africa’s traditional business model.
Examples of fast developing health tech so far during the pandemic, include adjustments and updates to the District Health Information System in countries like Uganda, South Africa and Kenya. This system reconfiguration means that these countries now have access to major functionalities that will help them get the virus under control. These include active surveillance and response, accelerated case detection and situation reporting.
An analysis conducted by the WHO Africa Regional Office discovered that from the 1,000 or so new technologies used globally in response to the pandemic, 120 were developed in Africa. This analysis was between July and September 2020 only. Leading African innovators according to the analysis are from South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria and Kenya. This is primarily because there were already frameworks and infrastructure in place to facilitate social entrepreneurship in those countries.
Unleashing the potential of young people throughout Africa
For many experts, this surge of new tech innovation in Africa is not surprising at all. Rather, it’s the natural effects of a continent that is beginning to support the potential of entrepreneurs, small businesses and innovators.
Moses Makayoto is an innovator and research scientist who was formerly the deputy director at the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute. He cites the growth and improvement of Africa’s educational system as a key reason behind the innovation growth during the pandemic. Many major African educational institutions are globally recognised, including universities and technical colleges.
One of the major tech hubs in Africa is in Kenya. Since 2007, Kenya as turned out a number of important technological innovations, leading to the media dubbing Kenya Africa’s ‘Silicon Valley’. However, there are still so many more African countries that could be creating and implement innovative tech solutions.
These innovative uses of tech are the only way to ensure healthcare improves across the board. This then has a knock-on effect on local communities and economies. Some African countries are still extremely resource poor, and while the creativity and ideas are there, they need more investment to turn them into reality.
Examples of social innovation making a difference to local communities
The pandemic has shown that there is no end to the creativity, resourcefulness and potential of Africa’s social entrepreneurs. But there is a clear case for more investment and the expansion of existing policy frameworks.
Governments of African countries must give more support to the young people who are most often acting as the social entrepreneurs the continent needs. The future is truly in their hands through the implementation of their innovations. This also goes for major tech companies, brands and service providers. They now have the corporate social responsibility to promote, support and incentivise start-ups and social entrepreneurs.
Here are just some of the kinds of social enterprises that are providing solutions to systemic problems, boosting local communities and economies and forming the future of Africa. These are all from just before COVID-19, and although the pandemic is reshaping the projects underway, the examples below demonstrate just how important social entrepreneurship is to Africa’s future.
- mPharma, based in Ghana – prescription management social enterprise designed to make medication more affordable for people in Africa. Launched in 2014, the enterprise expanded in 2019 when it purchased the biggest pharmacy chain in Kenya. In the same year, it launched various financing initiatives for treating breast cancer in Nigeria.
- Easy Solar, based in Sierra Leone – pay-as-you-go solar lighting platform and charging systems for people with no access to electricity. Launched in 2016, it has now reached all districts in Sierra Leone and plans to expand to LIberira.
- Toolboksi, based in Tanzania – online platform that connects people looking for construction and plumbing work with local artisans who are skilled in these areas. Its aim is to reduce unemployment and the start-up won the Best Social Impact Start-up in 2019 from the South Africa Start-up Awards.
- Farmcrowdy, based in Nigeria – digital lending platform connecting small investors with farmers. Its focus is to reduce poverty and increase food production and it involves more than 25,000 small scale farmers.
- Eco-Warriors, based in Mauritius – mobile game aimed at teaching children about conservation and climate change. Includes rewards for players if they take part in household recycling. Soon after launch, the app won the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
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