Thoughts on African Ventures and the Way Forward

An Op-Ed for Disrupt-Africa:

Thoughts on African Ventures and the Way Forward
http://disrupt-africa.com/2015/12/thoughts-on-african-ventures-and-the-way-forward/

"China and Russia have shown that it is possible for indigenous startups to compete with their western counterparts and win. African startups should also dominate their own markets, at least. The days of a tiny (overhyped) US startup with office 12,547 kilometers away in Palo Alto dominating our local markets and getting all the juice should be over.

“The way forward for African startups is to innovate aggressively, iterate faster and quickly adopt latest technology. The African founder that have it ingrained in his heart that his products will not be inferior to foreign alternatives will have ready adoption from local markets and could eventually dominate.”

…

"Capital is crucial if we are to fully realize the potential of African startups; real capital is needed. There is little, very little that a $10,000 or $50,000 financing round will do for a startup to move from product development to product-market fit to considerable revenue. Startup funding in Africa needs to cross to the 100s of thousands of dollars range even at the seed level.

"Lack of funding… should not discourage founders from pursuing their dreams. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Founders should practice frugality, hire slowly, fire fast and try to make some revenue.

It’s “thoughts”, personal thoughts. Perhaps the reader will find something worthwhile to learn from this exposé.

More here: http://disrupt-africa.com/2015/12/thoughts-on-african-ventures-and-the-way-forward/

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