Cross-pollination or brain drain? Nigerian techies in the UK

Hi, Tech54 readers!

In a surprise twist, Kenya has gone full circle on its initial threat to shut down Facebook if it did not comply with rules on hate speech. Kenyan lawmakers undercut the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which gave the social media platform seven days to delete harmful content or face suspension on Friday.

“We do not have a plan to shut down any of these platforms," the information minister said on Monday. "Press freedom is one we cherish, whether it is (traditional) media or social media."

The US company said it had deleted 37,000 hateful posts, but ethnic-related content is still being reported in the run up to what looks like a close election. This is the second Kenya-related controversy to hit Meta, Facebook’s parent company, in recent months.?A South African whistleblower is in the process of suing Sama, a company employed by Facebook to moderate content, for blocking his attempts to form a union and protest against working conditions.

- Tom Collins, editor, Tech54

Nigerian tech entrepreneurs set up in UK under Innovator Visa scheme?

Nigerian techies have taken advantage of the UK’s talent-hungry immigration policies to relocate to Britain in the post-Brexit era, according to experts who help facilitate the move. Jones Oviawe-Jones, vice president of ventures at Innovisa, a company that facilitates visas for tech entrepreneurs, told Tech54 that around 40 Nigerian entrepreneurs move to the UK each year.

“We’ve seen fairly steady and sustained interest for entrepreneurs to come over as part of the residency programme,” he says.

The UK introduced its Innovator visa in 2019 to encourage seasoned founders to come and set up a business in the country. Individuals need to have a viable business idea as well as ￡50,000. One example is a company that built a gamification app.Oviawe-Jones says that most of the businesses spot different opportunities in the UK market compared to in Nigeria.

Setting up payments companies, for example, is not a huge area of interest as the Nigerian market is far more suited to it than the UK.?A key attraction for these types of entrants is access to the UK stock market and a diverse pool of investors that is not present in Nigeria. “It’s a massive pull, the UK is a global destination to raise investment,” says Oviawe-Jones. However, he adds the caveat that Nigerian entrepreneurs may struggle at first to break into investment circles, without any former connections.

The Global Talent visa was also introduced in 2020, to encourage high-calibre candidates to move to the UK to work in tech companies. The ability to command six figure salaries is a key motivating factor, Oviawe-Jones says. However, while the flow of Nigerian talent is good for the UK, some argue that it feeds into the brain drain which damages startup scenes across Africa. Oviawe-Jones disagrees, pointing out that many of the founders that move to the UK frequently move back and forth between Lagos and London. They pump money back into funds and angel investor networks and set up subsidiaries in Lagos. Indeed, the gamification startup has an office in Nigeria which it uses to employ developers.

“In many ways Nigeria gains from these guys,” he says. “It’s cross pollination. When they set up shop here in the UK invariably they are looking at where they can get resources cheap. And so by and large the development teams will be Lagos based, which makes sense. So I wouldn’t say it’s a drain but a sharing of experience and knowledge which is beneficial for both regions”.?

This idea calls into question traditional theories around brain drain, which may need reassessment in an era of increasing globalisation.?Previously, doctors and academics would leave African countries and not return for years, leaving a significant gap in local talent. As it becomes easier and cheaper to move around, perhaps a new understanding of Africa’s work-focused diaspora is required.?

Produced by David Thomas?