Twitter is now present on the continent”. With this short, very precise tweet, Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder and CEO, announced that the social network is opening its first office in Africa, more specifically in Ghana. With this move, twitter became another tech giant to establish local presence including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Huawei, Amazon, and more, as growing global tech appearance in the continent has been increasing in the past decade.
On the surface, this seems like the perfect opportunity for growth, with job opportunities opening up for younger professionals, investments in local facilities, and more. But when diving a bit deeper, it’s not all roses.
"Africa will define the future”
In late 2019, Dorsey came to Africa on a listening tour, where he visited Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia, and met with some prominent entrepreneurs. "Africa will define the future,” he tweeted mid tour. "Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid-2020.” His relocation plans were of course altered by the global Covid pandemic, but the basic notion remained; Africa has an array of specific, extraordinary conditions that establish it as a potential trend-setting continent, as it represents one of the last blue oceans for global tech growth.
And this potential has not remained unnoticed, with the heads of the biggest companies in the world roaming the continent, and looking for local inspiration and talent. Airbnb’s Brian Chesky and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella in 2015, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg visited Kenya and Nigeria in 2016. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai came in 2017, while then Alphabet’s Sergey Brin visited the following year. Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has come to Africa in 2017, twice in 2018 and again in 2019. And these trips resulted in more than just inspirational tweets: Amazon launched AWS services in South Africa in 2018, while Google’s first African AI lab opened in Ghana, and Alibaba’s global trade platform opened in Ethiopia in 2019.
Let’s start with the positive effects of this technological invasion. With the opening of local offices and centers, thousands of jobs are created, and local tech enthusiasts finally get the opportunity to learn and evolve in their preferred profession. Amazon currently employs over 7000 people in South Africa, while Microsoft’s data centers are expected to create more than 100,000 positions across the continent.
Tech leaders often bring vast investments in local adversities as a show of good faith and a way of establishing connections with national leaders. Jack Ma endorsed the Paradise International Foundation, and the "Ranger Awards” that aims to recognize 500 wildlife rangers who have been safeguarding the continent’s natural heritage for African citizens.
Local investment extends to the entrepreneurial sphere, with Mark Zuckerberg and Precilia Chan’s foundation kick-starting their operations in Africa, presenting grant opportunities to local initiatives striving for impact in education, science, and community. The eFounders Fellowship program, created by Alibaba Business School and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to empower 200 platform-building entrepreneurs over five years, and Africa Working, a new initiative announced today by a group of companies, including Barclays, Knod, and Microsoft, is supporting 200,000 youth and 50,000 entrepreneurs, with employability and entrepreneurship in Africa as the main goals.
The other side of the coin
While hundreds of thousands of local positions open up, and millions are invested in local talend and preservation, innovation appropriation is a real concern. With tech giants salaries presenting the highest opportunities in the continent, the role of local entrepreneurship might become less meaningful. As the life of first-time innovators is full of initial hardships, some might relinquish their creative ideas, and choose the financially-safer roles.
"Data colonialism” is another concern, as the continent’s data protection regulations range from limited to nonexistent. Data extraction, monopolization, and monetization are already leading to various developing countries being subjected to the impulses of Big Tech leaders, while the people’s data is used to enhance big tech innovation, and increase their political footprint.
It is undoubtedly great that the world is recognising the vast potential that lies in Africa, as investments are already boosting the tech sector, inspiring tech education, and establishing value for the continent and for the companies alike. But while the positive aspects are many, we must also remember the potential of Africa is much bigger than being a helping hand in the global tech scene, with high levels of local innovation, and creative thinking, in need of monetization of their talents.
As big tech companies often deal with first-world problem solving, Africa’s local entrepreneurs offer the best solutions for their local hardships, and that is something that should not disappear, but flourish.
The writer is an entrepreneur and investor, leading sustainability-driven companies in Africa and the Middle East