Building a Culture of Innovation in Africa: How African Entrepreneurs Can Foster Innovation to Drive Economic Growth and Development

Innovation is widely recognized as a key driver of economic growth and development, and it has played a critical role in the success of many of the world’s most successful businesses and economies. In today’s  changing world , the ability to innovate has become more important than ever, and this is especially true for the African continent. With a rapidly growing population, a young and increasingly educated workforce, and vast untapped resources, Africa is well-positioned to harness the power of innovation to drive sustainable economic growth and development.

However, building a culture of innovation is not easy, and African entrepreneurs face several unique challenges in this regard. From limited access to funding and infrastructure to cultural barriers and a lack of formal training and education, there are many obstacles that can make it difficult for African entrepreneurs to foster a culture of innovation. In this piece, we will explore some of the key steps that African entrepreneurs can take to overcome these challenges and build a culture of innovation in Africa.

• Embracing a Growth Mindset: The first step in building a culture of innovation is to embrace a growth mindset. This means recognizing that innovation is not just about coming up with new ideas, but also about learning from failure, embracing experimentation, and continuously iterating and improving. African entrepreneurs must be willing to take risks, embrace uncertainty, and be resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks.

• Developing the Right Infrastructure: Innovation requires a supportive ecosystem that provides entrepreneurs with access to the resources and infrastructure they need to succeed. This includes access to funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities, as well as access to modern technology and other key resources. African entrepreneurs must work to build and strengthen this ecosystem, both at the national and regional level.

• Leveraging Technology to Drive Innovation: Technology is a powerful tool for driving innovation, and African entrepreneurs must leverage it to its fullest potential. This means embracing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, and using them to create new products and services, improve operational efficiency, and reach new markets.

• Encouraging Collaboration and Partnership: Innovation is rarely the work of a single individual or organization. Instead, it requires collaboration and partnership between different stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and government. African entrepreneurs must work to build partnerships and collaborate with others to drive innovation and create impact at scale.

• Fostering Entrepreneurial Education and Training: Finally, building a culture of innovation requires a strong foundation in entrepreneurial education and training. African entrepreneurs must have access to high-quality training and education programs that provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to build successful businesses and drive innovation. This includes training in areas like business management and fundamentals, leadership and business growth, selecting and building a team, how to start and run a business, design thinking, marketing, financial management etc, as taught on TEFConnect, the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s digital training platform.

It is worthy to note that building a culture of innovation is critical for African entrepreneurs to drive sustainable economic growth and development. While there are many challenges that African entrepreneurs must overcome to achieve this goal, there are also many opportunities and resources available to them. By embracing a growth mindset, developing the right infrastructure, leveraging technology, encouraging collaboration and partnership, and fostering entrepreneurial education and training, African entrepreneurs can create a thriving ecosystem of innovation that supports their success.  The Tony Elumelu Foundation is committed to supporting African entrepreneurs in this journey and we look forward to seeing the incredible innovations and impact that will emerge as a result.

Here are some of TEF’s beneficiaries who are improving lives and transforming Africa through innovation and invention:

Mohamed Dhaoufi is a 2017 beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, and the founder of CURE, an organisation making tremendous impact in the lives of amputees and ensures that they can function adequately despite living in a world that is not built to accommodate them.

The birthing of CURE was inspired by Mohamed’s friend’s cousin who had been born without upper limbs and could not afford prosthetics.

He established two main programmes to help him achieve his goals; the development of personalized, 3D printed bionic hands and the provision of disruptive physical rehabilitation solutions to amputees who mostly live in rural areas and have limited resources using virtual reality.

Angele Messa is the founder of EduClick Africa, a job search engine (www.educlickcareers.com) created to promote access to quality education and decent job opportunities.

Her business model helps train and mentor individuals to realise their true potential. EduClick Africa currently ranks as the largest job search engine in Cameroon.

Through her business, Angele has a vision to democratise access to decent jobs for all, irrespective of geographical location, qualifications, and gender. She has a goal to help 1 million youths access decent jobs and opportunities through EduClick Careers by 2025.

Haythem Dabbabi is a 2019 TEF Entrepreneur from Tunisia and founder of  Evocraft, an organisation helping young children and adults to become more familiar with STEM, robotics and software programming using fun non-traditional approaches. So far, they have taught and impacted over 200 children.

Through the TEF’s coaching, they have been able to make significant changes to their business model and operations. This has also helped them to essentially expand to more schools and sell more robots everywhere. 

Their future plans include expanding more on the national territory, to reach more schools.

Richard Bbaale is a social entrepreneur from Uganda that founded BanaPads in 2010, a company using banana pseudostem wastes, which are usually left to rot after harvesting, to make sanitary towels. 

BanaPads is an award-winning social enterprise registered in Uganda and Tanzania with the aim of manufacturing affordable and eco-friendly (100% biodegradable) sanitary pads to keep village girls in school and create jobs for local women. The pads are also collected to be used as manure and this means that the waste that goes to the local landfill will be reduced since the banana pseudo-stem is a recyclable product.