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First, while Silicon Cape is focused on branding (and doing a good job of it), what is really
needed is someone to bring the new technology hubs, start-ups, angel investors, media,
academia, corporations, and even the government together. There’s a lot of activity, each in
its own silo. It’s a hard job being the trusted bridge between these different parts of what
can be a very opinionated and political community. I’d suggest that Silicon Cape’s mission
should be to do just this.
Second, In Kenya and Nigeria the founders of start-ups tend to look a lot like a cross section
of the country’s population. The technology community in South Africa doesn’t look a lot
like the racial makeup of the country, to put it bluntly, I rarely see a black South African tech
entrepreneur. Not being from there, I’m not sure why this is, so it’s just an observation. It’s
hard to build a product for a community that you’re not from, nor understand, so I can’t
help but think that the South African tech scene would benefit greatly by having more
people building companies to solve problems from all parts of that country’s stratified
makeup.
A Connected Community
Sitting at 38,000 feet writing this piece, I keep thinking how there seems to be a link
between the connectedness of a technology community in a country and it’s vibrancy as an
industry. Though I realize there are other variables, this explanation helps me explain why
Kenya is further ahead in some areas than other countries.
As I look to Kenya more deeply I’m struck by how important the egoless actions of
individuals like Riyaz Bachani and Josiah Mugambi (Skunkworks), Dr. Bitange Ndemo
(Government), Joe Mucheru (Google), and others have been in setting us on a trajectory
that we all benefit from as the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
This theory of a connected technology community doesn’t mean that everyone always
agrees or walks in lock-step with each other. There’s healthiness in internal critique and
desire to find solutions beyond the status quo of the moment. However, I do think it does
provide a foundational element for cities and countries trying to grow a more meaningful
and vibrant technology community.