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Why Silicon Valley’s Money Can’t Solve Africa’s Tech Problems

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Why Silicon Valley’s Money Can’t Solve Africa’s Tech Problems

Wired,

5 min read
5 take-aways
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What's inside?

Can African entrepreneurs get support – both financial and instructional – from local investors?

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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that the future will be built in Africa, but if current trends persist, it will be built by foreign nationals with foreign investments; Africa’s budding venture capital (VC) scene is mostly made up of foreign men. This includes both the investors and the entrepreneurs, although local VCs might have more of a feel for the local economy. The challenge is how to convince Africa’s wealthy to invest and get funding into the right hands. getAbstract recommends Esha Chhabra’s article to readers with an interest in impact investing in Africa.

Summary

Vava Angwenyi wants to improve East Africa’s agricultural sector with the production and sale of Kenyan coffee. She headed to the US to seek funding because most of Africa’s limited funding gets directed to tech and Africa’s venture capital scene is largely an “old boy’s club.” Perhaps the bigger problem is that the investors and entrepreneurs in Africa are predominantly foreigners.

Angwenyi isn’t the only one who’s noticed the lack of local venture capitalists investing in local enterprises. Capria, a Seattle-based impact investment fund, has given Nairobi-based investment...

About the Author

Eshra Chhabra writes about the business and its impact on social and environmental problems. She’s written for the San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist and The Guardian. 

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