New Markets Investor

Q3 2015Science, Technologyand Innovation inAfricaNot yet cutting edge, but itwill soon get sharperIN June 2014, global technology giantMicrosoft launched its 4Afrika IP Hub, aportal that would, for free, protect youngAfrican developers’ intellectual property(IP) rights in exchange for publishingtheir inventions.In tech-savvy Nairobi, one of the launchcapitals, the young crowd of geeky andcool developers excitedly welcomed thepossibility of being able to finally makemoney from their work. For years theyhave tended to operate in the informaleconomy, largely invisible to investors.A two-year trial, Microsoft will thenhand over a successful project to theKenyan government, before rolling itout to other African capitals, accordingto Kunle Awosika, Microsoft’s countrymanager.The multi-million dollar investment andits positive reception mirrors the concernthat while the continent is home to manybrilliant inventions, it has been difficultto invest them to scale, there being littleinformation as to their value, and consequently,tap them for Africa’s growth.New Markets Investor66Avocado export start-upMutembo Chanda runs an avocadoexport start-up out of a warehouse alongthe Great North Road leading out of theZambian main city of Lusaka. Until he investedin a cold room onsite, the biggestcost to him was storage losses.“But it often breaks down, and getting theright technician to fix it is a hit-and-missaffair,” he says, adding that this leads todelayed payments to his suppliers, whoare largely small scale growers in thecountryside.Mutembo could be speaking for anysmall trader on the continent, and by extension,the farmers who toil hard only torun into major challenges storing, sellingand earning from their sweat.Initiatives in Zambia to strengthen theagricultural value chain have largely seenforeign institutions fund small groups,