Africa's Big Tech Dilemma

Africa’s Big Tech Dilemma

We know when you read this title you may have been a little confused. Don’t we need advanced tech to have a big tech dilemma? Well you’re right, but that’s only part of the dilemma . As it stands, the dilemma is threefold and needs a little unpacking. Here’s what we think Africa’s big tech dilemma consists of.?

What is meant by big tech?

Big Tech is a term that refers to?the most dominant and largest technology companies in their respective sectors. Companies like Google (Alphabet), Amazon, Facebook (Meta), and Apple are commonly referred to as the Big Four or GAFA.?A more inclusive grouping, referred to as the Big Five or GAMAM defines Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft as the tech giants.

Believe us when we say all these companies have their eyes set fast on Africa, and all of them have some major presence on the continent already. This is fantastic and inspiring, but also brings with it a cause for concern. As developers of tech talent on the continent, we do not have a single student in any of our cohorts, who upon finishing, wouldn’t want to be placed in any of these companies. Thus we have the first part of the dilemma:

If everyone wants to work for the GAMAM, who will work for African tech?

Africa is a future tech superpower, with a rapidly expanding tech startup ecosystem, but it still lags far behind the rest of the world.?According to Statista, the number of startups in Nigeria was estimated at around 3,300 in 2020, the highest number in Africa. To follow, South Africa and Kenya counted approximately 660 and 600 startups in the same year, respectively.

If any of these startups stand a chance of survival, they need both experienced and young talent working in them.?Further to this, we also need people who are loyal and brave enough to stick through the tumultuous journey that is working in a start up. All too often start ups face issues of high attrition as employees are looking for more than the start up can offer. But even the GAMAM started as small start ups.?

If the GAMAM continue to grow and take the best talent, what chance do we have to create another Econet, Jumia or Interswitch. Also the GAMAM aren’t the only big companies with tech needs. There?are Agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, Financial institutions and governments that all need tech talent to work in them.?

How can we encourage young Africans to commit to the companies and industries of the future?

Who will build the revolution?

One of the biggest challenges all African countries face is local players not having the capacity to execute big infrastructure projects. It is safe to say that a big part of the revolution will be made possible through the investments of Big Tech. While this expedites the progress of Africa’s grand mission, it does leave a question of space for local players to later occupy.?

What we need are for leaders to act ahead of this and for leaders to emerge to mitigate this. Start ups today need to start setting the foundations for their companies to start operating in manner that asserts their intentions well beyond today. More on this on another day.?

How can African companies ensure they occupy tech space in the future?

Africa’s appetite for tech needs to mature fast?

If we asked you today whether you would want to start a tech company or an FMCG company, what would your answer be? Without trying to assume too much about whose reading this, our guess is that most people would want to start an FMCG. FMCG’s are fast growing, ever relevant and understood by most investors on the continent. However if the revolution is to thrive we as Africans need to start being more tech driven.?

The tech revolution will happen whether we like it or not, but the speed in which we get there is highly dependent on the urgency of our leaders today.?

How can we increase the urgency of our leaders today to start adopting tech in all their processes?