Tag: Africa

• By Oluwole Ogundele

Having a deep sense of history is a positive force for sustainable development in modern Africa. This entails knowledge and its rigorous applications. Africa is a rich storehouse of historical and cultural values. These values and historical experiences are second to none. This is a reality that cannot be contested, despite the numerous challenges arising from knowledge filtering by the colonial/neo-colonial masters or oligarchs. It is too easily forgotten, that colonial or neo-colonial education in general, is an encumbrance (to some extent), to historical knowledge productions, as if socio-economic development on a sustainable scale matters. A thoroughgoing and systematic reconstruction of Africa’s past, is a task that must be accomplished at all costs. Without this, development on a sustainable scale will continue to elude the continent. However, it is wrong to assume that all the actions and behaviours of our ancestors were noble and/or useful today. A critical assimilation of the past is of the essence.

Palaeo-anthropological researches around the world have shown that Africa is the original homeland of humankind. The earliest known humans (though ape-like in morphology) emerged from this continent about four million years ago.  They were christened Australopithecines, with an average cranial capacity of 500 cc. More advanced early humans-Homo erectus and Homo sapiens (anatomically modern men) with better technologies, evolved from the Australopithecines. Some of them also spread from Africa to other parts of the world. Therefore, every human being is (broadly speaking) an African, regardless of his geographical location, skin colour, shape of the nose, and texture of the hair. All these physical features are superficial.

Apart from the above, a lot of the subjects we engage in today have their roots in ancient Africa. Africa, using a common sense theory, should lead the modern world. Mathematics was practised more than 25,000 years ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The first mathematics book was written by Imhotep-an African of Egyptian extraction about 4,000 years ago. Ifa-a form of oral literacy among the Yoruba of Nigeria was/is an encyclopaedic knowledge system, enshrined in mathematics and natural sciences as well as mysticism. This is similar to the Dogon-Bambara Number Systems in Mali. The remote African intellectuals successfully explored the interlink between science and religion in order to conquer their material and extra-material spaces. They appreciated the fact, that robust humanity among other things is situated at the crossroads of physical locales and social distinctions including spiritual territories. This was with a view to improving the human condition.

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Chemistry originated from Africa, specifically Egypt, as early as the 5th century B.C.  Kemit refers to the soot emanating from herbal preparations inside pots. Based on hard evidence, medicine originated from Egypt. Hippocrates-Father of Medicine, trained in ancient Egypt, where different kinds of bone and brain surgery were carried out.

Iron metallurgy was practised in the Nok Valley region of central Nigeria as far back in time as the 5th century B.C. Iron metallurgy was/is the material signature of advanced chemistry, physics, technology, mineralogy, and religion.  The above storylines ought to form the foundations of Africa’s sustainable development today.  Similarly, ancient Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Archimedes studied mathematics, philosophy, and mysticism in the Egyptian sanctuaries for decades. But the names of their African teachers were conspicuously glossed over by the Western intellectual oligarchy. Do the African political leaders care a hoot?

It is time to begin to rise above maximalist machinations otherwise known as neo-colonialism and economic imperialism. Africa’s buried glories have to be exhumed. No need for lamenting forever about our encounters with the Western world. We are descendants of artists, scientists, and technologists of the upper crust essence. The available historical facts must be the basis for self-confidence among Africans in the fast-changing world of modern education and development.

Salute to some former African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nelson Mandela of South Africa! They played politics as if sustainable development mattered.  Indeed, their finesse in governmental engineering had no equal.

Currently, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Mokgweetsi of Botswana, and Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania are fighting corruption and promoting progress in their geo-polities, through the lens of exemplary, world-class leadership. These are some of the few contemporary African leaders emulating the above political colossi. Their styles of leadership are highly commendable given the fact, that the modern African political landscape is characterised by insane greed and unprintable corruption. This is the main factor leading to material poverty, aggravated insecurity, and hopelessness in the land.

Most of the current African leaders need to become tutees of the few disciplined, culturally educated politicians. History is unforgiving! Emphasis should be on high ideals as opposed to ugly, animalistic greed or materialism that most African leaders now see as a sign of wisdom or smartness.

I humbly submit here, that a new body tentatively called “African Radical Union’ (ARU) may have to be formed. Membership should not automatically be for every former or current African president or prime minister. Indeed, membership must be anchored to what the ordinary people of a country say about their leader. No room (in ARU) for morally and spiritually bankrupt people masquerading as leaders. Those who are uncritically fraternising with our external abusers and economic exploiters, have no place to stand in ARU. There is need for a new Africa! It is time to take a bold step in a new trajectory of progress and dignity.

Despite the sometimes, nauseating rhetoric of democracy, most Africans remain desperately poor. A lot of the bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements signed with Europe, America, and Asia are turning most youths in Africa into slaves in their fatherland. We are victims of Euro-American and Asian poisonous, devastating expansionism. Painfully, the local leaders look the other way.  African leadership culture is generally characterised by flamboyance, mindlessness, an abnormal dose of self-importance, and insane corruption. Consequently, the citizens continue to groan under the weight of horrible leaders with unheedful eyes and unlistening ears. This is an invitation to anarchy! African political leaders have to be good students of history.

The recent Kenyan uprising by the youth was/is a reflection of the tragedy of modern Africa.  African leaders have refused to imbibe some salient aspects of the American and/or European democratic cultures embedded in prudence, humility, and fine-grained service to humanity. On the contrary, these African leaders, like baboons, are busy ravaging our collective corn field at the expense of the led.

More and more people are now committing suicide due to aggravated economic hardships and hopelessness.  Suicide was un-African until recently. This was because of the fact, that African culture was originally enshrined in communalism including fellow feeling. Rugged individualism (a largely Western cultural trait) and material poverty anchored to bad policies have eroded a chunk of African humanity today. Where is the African Union (AU)? Is it a cosmetic body? Honestly, I’m yet to understand why most African leaders are running up and down, while the citizens cannot breathe as a result of poor governance.

•Prof Ogundele is of Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.

• By Bola Mathew Akinbinu

Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is a dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape with the potential for economic growth and innovation. The continent is home to about 1.4 billion people, representing 16 per cent of the world’s population. The countries in Africa are diverse not only in culture and language but also in economic output. With a growing youth population, Africa is thriving in the digital economy. Exploring the various components of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa include government policies, regulatory frameworks, and emerging opportunities. This components highlight the diverse and vibrant entrepreneurial environment that drives change and progress across different sectors of the African economy.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa refers to the interconnected network of entrepreneurs, investors, support organisations, and government entities that create an environment conducive to starting and growing businesses on the continent. Africa’s entrepreneurship landscape has evolved significantly over the years, with a shift towards supporting innovation, technology, and sustainable development. The continent has seen a rise in homegrown startups and initiatives, driving economic growth and social impact. However, various components of a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa, including access to funding and investment, a supportive regulatory environment, access to talent and skills development, and government support and policies for entrepreneurship, are still under scrutiny, with no common front in sight among African countries. In other words, African nations are a divided house with no strategic direction or goals, unlike their European counterpart. The partnership between Europe and Africa includes cooperation in various areas such as trade, investment, development aid, security, and migration. While the United States seeks to re-establish itself as a major partner of choice, China is gradually, with concerted effort, establishing itself in Africa. Amid the competition between the US and China, African leaders, in their disunity, are picking the seemingly right partners that benefit them, only in the short term, and are deeply disuniting the already divided continent. What benefits does a divided house bring to its citizenry in the African continent? This remains an unanswered question. Responsible leaders ought to look inward for the socio-economic development of their countries rather than aligning with the Western or Eastern leaders who seek to pursue their own, well-articulated strategic goals, all at the expense of a continent like Africa.

Returning to the key components of a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem, access to funding and investment sources, including venture capital, angel investors, and various funding mechanisms, is specifically designed to support early-stage startups in Africa. Some notable African companies leading in this area are M-Kopa, a provider of off-grid solar financing in East Africa, and Chipper Cash, a service for cross-border mobile money transfers across the continent. M-Kopa initially focused on a lending business model that utilised digital micropayments and IoT connectivity to enhance the accessibility of financing for solar services and household products. On the other hand, Chipper Cash offers a cross-border mobile money transfer service across multiple African countries, including Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Africa, with its headquarters located in San Francisco, California, United States.

From a regulatory standpoint, creating a supportive environment that facilitates business operations by safeguarding intellectual property rights and encouraging innovation is crucial for the success of entrepreneurs. Clear and transparent regulations provide the stability needed for businesses to grow. Examples of countries with supportive regulatory environments in Africa include Rwanda, which has been recognised for improving the ease of doing business, establishing the Rwanda Development Board, and eliminating several bureaucratic hurdles. Mauritius, for example, has a well-developed regulatory framework that supports entrepreneurship and innovation, focuses on intellectual property protection and a favourable tax regime. Kenya is another African country that has improved its regulatory environment, particularly in the technology and innovation sectors, with initiatives like the Kenyan Innovation Bill and establishing specialised economic zones.​

Governments across Africa have introduced various initiatives to support entrepreneurship, including funding programmes, tax incentives, and regulatory reforms aimed at simplifying business processes. Initiatives consist of policies and corresponding programmes that provide the guidelines that boost the required conducive enabling environment, spurring innovations, attracting investments, and creating jobs, thereby contributing to economic growth and social development across the African continent. These initiatives aim to create an enabling environment for startups to flourish. Examples of such initiatives are the Startup Act in Tunisia and The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in Nigeria. Key elements of Tunisia’s Startup Act include state salaries for up to three founders per company during the first year of operations, generous tax breaks, and a one-year leave period for public and private sector employees to start a company with the right to return to their old jobs. In Nigeria, The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), a specialised agency, was initiated in 2016 to remove bureaucratic constraints on doing business and attract local and foreign investments. The question is, ‘How many of these initiatives were known by the relevant stakeholders?’ How accessible are these initiatives? Is there any database portal that stakeholders can access for relevant information? What communication strategies did the different African nations use to disseminate these initiatives to the relevant stakeholders? How does government implement and monitor the success of such initiatives?  For instance, the PEBEC initiatives introduced a policy and a programme to assist small and medium-sized enterprises, in partnership with all levels of government and the private sector. Unfortunately, the research could not confirm that the initiatives (policy and programme) were effectively communicated to the relevant stakeholders and has not allayed the fear that the Nigerian government initiatives were more window dressing that paints a good picture of government seriousness towards businesses when the opposite is the reality. Again, the implementation of this seemingly concealed policy becomes dead on arrival and does not last beyond Buhari’s regime. While the policies developed by other countries remain open to the relevant stakeholders and become stable over a while with deliberate attempts to always review, when and where necessary, the policies by the Nigerian government are always tackled through a reactionary approach, concealed from the stakeholders, and become stale before implementation. I hope Tinubu’s government will address this abnormality and reverse the trends.

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In essence, the success of the initiatives depends on the impact on stakeholders who are privileged to know about the initiatives existence and is fortunate to have access with no bottlenecks as inherent in most African countries ‘business practices’. The leaders of African nations are generally capable of launching commendable programmes, but unfortunately, they hardly pursue such initiatives to a logical and successful conclusion.

Enabling the entrepreneurship ecosystem requires the expertise of the various relevant stakeholders. Therefore, access to a skilled workforce and continuous skills development programmes are vital for the success of entrepreneurs in Africa. Building a talent with the necessary skills for the modern business landscape is crucial for driving innovation and growth. African educational institutions and training programmes must work to develop the required skills and talent for entrepreneurs. A view case is Andela, a software engineering, training and development company based in Africa, founded in 2014 and with operations in several African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. Andela’s mission is to develop world-class software engineers in Africa and connect them with global technology companies. The company offers an intensive training programme that includes technical and soft skills development and then matches the trained engineers with client companies for full-time employment. Likewise, Moringa School, a coding education institution based in Nairobi, Kenya, was founded in 2014 to provide high-quality, affordable coding education to Kenyan youth. Moringa School offers full-time and part-time coding bootcamp programmes and self-paced online courses. The programmes cover topics such as web development, mobile development, and data science, and aim to prepare students for careers in the tech industry.  Institutions developing new skill sets suitable for new job categories in different industries and sectors of the economy are more than desirable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which can supports different entrepreneurial-based ventures.

Entrepreneurs in Africa often encounter challenges, however, Africa offers exciting opportunities in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, fintech, and e-commerce. It is like a treasure hunt that requires digging in the right spot to strike gold. The role of technology in advancing and shaping entrepreneurial-based businesses cannot be overstated. Technology is gradually revolutionising entrepreneurship in Africa. While innovations like fintech, mobile banking with fintech-developed features, AI, and blockchain are reshaping industries and creating new business opportunities, Africa is yet to grasp the use of AI and blockchain which could give entrepreneurship a turbo boost into the future. Fintech companies in Africa are making a great move to ease payment or create a digital lending platform that provides instant loans to individuals and small businesses rather than through traditional banking systems. With about 1.4 billion people, Africa offers a large potential market for fintechs, though acquiring customers can be challenging because of deficit infrastructures and low customer purchasing power, among others. Relevant government agencies that identified the emergence or trends of new jobs in the tech arena should proactively identify the needed structural infrastructures and policies that support a favourable and conducive business environment.

 To further deepen the spirit of entrepreneurship, establishing Innovation hubs and incubators across the continent can offer entrepreneurs support, mentorship and resources to grow their startups. In South Africa, there are private and public government agencies of different sorts that deal with existing businesses. Some agencies are responsible for the implementation of the small business plan of the national government which includes subjecting new or existing businesses to the process of incubation. Other agencies provide support via the establishment of innovation hubs that provide some incubation programmes in agro-processing and pharmaceuticals, smart industries, and the green economy. The innovation hubs operate a range of enterprise development, skills development and innovation-enabling programmes, and these include MEST Africa in Ghana and BongoHive in Zambia. While MEST is a programme in Africa that provides training for technology entrepreneurs, funding for their projects, and a network of hubs that support and nurture technology startups across the continent, BongoHive, in Zambia, works with brilliant minds to create practical solutions that transform the world by offering a range of startup and innovation programmes all focused on making Zambia Africa’s next hotbed of innovation. In this, all existing innovation hubs in Africa need a deliberate push by the individual government to develop, introduce and implement an effective regulatory system to help in the sustenance of the various established innovation hubs. By nurturing and supporting entrepreneurs through access to funding and a conducive ecosystem, Africa is poised to become a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship on the global stage.

United African countries should have a common front, defining a strategic direction and goals for Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. African countries need to enhance their governance ecosystems to foster a vibrant entrepreneurship culture. This involves enhancing institutional quality and sound governance, capitalising on their potential human and resource capital. Though Africa’s countries are in strikingly different situations, but functioning entrepreneurship ecosystems can encourage specific types of entrepreneurs and also creating more African champions and regional champions in African member states. In other words, as the momentum of entrepreneurship in Africa grew, needed support and resources should be made available to aspiring business owners. This must be a clarion call to African leaders to wake up, unite and have a common front on how to create a favourable entrepreneurial ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive. Incubators, accelerators, and investment funds popping up across the continent, should provide guidance and funding that help the entrepreneurs thrive. The spirit of collaboration and community was palpable, as individuals shared knowledge, networks, and opportunities. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Africa, driving positive change and economic growth across the region.

With a supportive ecosystem in Africa, entrepreneurs can overcome challenges, learn from failures and ultimately achieve their goals. The impact on these businesses extended beyond just financial success, as they also contributed to job creation, social development, and technological advancement. The future seemed promising for African entrepreneurship, with numerous chances for expansion and influence if African nations can unite to boost a successful entrepreneurship ecosystem.

*Dr Bola Mathew Akinbinu, an entrepre­neur, researcher, business and manage­ment consultant, writes from Johannes­burg, South Africa (akinbinubolarinde@gmail.com)

By Wole Olujobi

The two video clips currently trending online featuring the ruins of the presidential palace of the late President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire and arms build-up in Burkina Faso (allegedly of Chinese and Russian origins) intrigue me to no end, drawing old memories of misfortunes that Africans had had to endure in the process of searching for political and economic models that best served the development goals of the peoples of Africa.

Unfortunately, decades after military regimes became anachronistic worldwide, some parts of Africa are still plagued with the leaders that are either in full military gear or are in the civilian garbs but with the regimental mentality of combatants that belch orders and speak with their cudgels and horsewhips to exert the force and authority of their offices.

In Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, for instance, the musket is laughing to scorn the tranquil essence of the ballot in the northern horn of West Africa where the military fatigue draped and cultured in monologue is drowning the primacy of popular debates that hallmark representative governance.

For the hapless people forced to accept the terror of the guns as their fate by their leaders who in an unrepresentative capacity determine their destinies, living in fear of the guns is far better than perish in the cross fires by the opportunist competitors in armed conflict for power to serve their fancies.

It is safe to surmise that African socio-economic malaise has always been woven around the quality of leadership that steers the continent’s ship of state, which has often forced a cynicism that the foundational crisis that has caused dislocations in the primary model of survival in Africa seems to be eternal in nature, and this can be located in the crisis of identity after the infiltration of borrowed cultures into the continent.

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In the struggle for idealistic living in the competing interests that divide the world, we have seen leaders of countries in their ideal for sovereign magnificence turn their countries into servile states to serve their personal interests and that of their overbearing compradors. The sad reality is that nothing has changed in spite of vivid pretensions.

This we have seen in South Africa where former President Jacob Zuma, a foremost freedom fighter, was jailed over allegation of corruption and obstruction of justice.

Though an apostle of non-violence, freedom fighter president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, later turned a dictator. Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire and President Idi Amin of Uganda became monsters terrorising their people even as they built astounding fortunes for themselves inland and abroad.

Today, Mobutu’s most expensive presidential palace in African history that cost his country fortunes is in ruins and inhabited by rodents and reptiles as revealed in the video.

In the scrambles for capital and political control, most of other military African freedom fighters have long abandoned military discipline and liberty creed for politics, which, according to Chief Afe Babalola, is the most lucrative business in the continent. And what do they dispense to the people they purport to be their voices in politics if not tokenism?

And so from a humble background of military discipline that scorns acquisitive instincts, they become upstarts, abandoning the principles of proletarian pretensions in which they were dubiously cloaked, to build real estates in regional capitals of the world, live in opulence and move around in posh cars while misery is writ large on the faces of the people they purport to fight for and on whose behalf they climb to the positions of authority in government.

In West Africa in particular, the trending  regional  gun and garrison alliance and solidarity in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic at the risk of economic isolation by the world governed by democratic ethos reminds us of Wole Soyinka’s “A Play of Giants’, which highlights the personal egos of the military rulers, who, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, set for their people the standards they won’t personally embrace, including turning their bayonets on the heads of their people to terrorise them, as citizens become “casualties of freedom”.

In one sorry moment of human tragedy in Africa, Ivory Coast (Cote D’Ivoire) moved from the riches of cocoa to the ruins of Cocody, as Laurent Gbagbo and  Alassane Ouattara, while seeking self-glorification, ignited a smouldering cauldron that incinerated the once prosperous, beautiful and sprawling Cocody city, which Prof Adebayo Williams in his sizzling essay described as a metaphor for human tsunami.

Today, Africa’s latest axis of evil (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso) notoriously famed as the terrorism capital of West Africa allegedly fuelled by foreign interest,  presents a worrying  alliance that threatens to isolate the people of that region of Africa from the economic federalism that drives and shapes the universal welfare agenda of the people of the world.

Their leaders:   Colonel Assimi Goïta (Mali), Captain Ibrahim Traore (Burkina Faso)  and Niger Republic’s  General Abdourahamane Tchiani, heavily backed by Russia and China, and evidently African pretenders to the thrones of  Otto Von Bismarck and Cyrus the Great, and caricature of Moamar Ghadaffi of Libya, never represent the Africa’s great hopes and aspirations for development.

At best, they represent the grotesque totems of redemption that worship and serve themselves. And this the Burkinabe leader demonstrated recently when he pronounced five more years for himself on the throne before the citizens of Burkina Faso could vote to have a government of their choice, even as poverty ravages the country with the despondent young people braving the ocean in their stowaway bids to escape to Europe.

For Captain Traore of Burkina Faso who is building an unprecedented arms stockpiles as revealed in the trending video, the totalitarianisation of the guns is far better than the democratisation of the ballot! And in him, a Ghadaffi is dead; for while the former Libyan leader had a vision and mission to grow his country according to her needs while sacrificing self-interest, foreign interest drives these new African belligerent states to their isolationist agenda to alienate their people from the world’s universal economic agenda. 

Even as the scars of colonialism are still fresh and festering in Africa, for these soldiers of fortunes, self-serving agenda is nobler than universal governance agenda for collective prosperity; all driven by capitulation to foreign interest that holds no promise for their despondent people.

Meanwhile, Niger’s junta has confirmed that rebels damaged an oil pipeline carrying crude oil to neighbouring Benin Republic. The Patriotic Liberation Front, which is fighting for the release of former President Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown in a coup last July, said it was behind the attack. The rebels threatened to continue the attacks on the pipelines run by the Chinese companies until China withdraws support for the junta that sacked the democratically elected government of President Bazoum on July 26, 2023.

And in Mali, Col Goita has jailed 10 opponents of the ruling military junta, including leading opposition politicians, for demanding a return to civilian rule. Those in the junta’s gulag include the heads of parties, groups and former Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Bathily, who signed a March declaration urging the restoration of democracy. They were accused of illegal gatherings and plotting against the “legal authorities.

Today, the three burdensome African states that can scarcely survive without their neighbours in the West Africa sub-region are seeking expansion of their terrorist bloc by asking other West African countries to join their misery train oiled by foreign interests that thrive on economic exploitation and political slavery to deepen the identity crisis that has stunted the continent’s growth over the years.

The question now arises: how long will Africa continue to wallow in this disillusionment arising from the crisis of identity fuelled by foreign interests and corrupt lifestyles that have become the Bible of some African leaders and which have plagued the continent’s growth and development over the years?

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the leader of the West Africa bloc, must double his efforts to ensure that the sub-region does not slide into dictatorship again. He must not allow West Africa to become foreign arms dumps for ideological war between colonial masters contesting the control of the world. The relics of dictatorial regimes in Africa are so gripping and scary to be embraced, so much so that the sub-region cannot afford to play the game of chance with the destinies of the people desperately in need of salvation that the world’s democratic governance guarantees.

African communal ethos nurtured by representative governance must triumph over gun-point foreign imperial capitalist agenda that serves only its promoters.

•Olujobi, a journalist and Commissioner in Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission, writes from Ado-Ekiti.