Asia Tech Voyage in Africa

If the growth of a nation is to be personified, then a tree would be a proper fit. So, it is good we look at this set of living things to gain wisdom on how they navigate their path. Firstly, for there to be a tree there has to be a seed, and this seed must be buried in soil before it encounters the richness of the soil for its growth. The Ideas are the seeds and the people in the geographical location are the soil. However, whilst growing these ideas must be managed as they take root in the soil. This leads to pruning.

Pruning is a process of taking away parts which would not be helpful so it can be more productive. By the way, you can only prune a growing tree. However, this pruning could be deceptive, because to the tree it looks like another death since it is painful, however it’s not rather an agro process of making it produce much better yield.

Christianity holds this, John 15: 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more (New Living Translation).

All this is about the China service space. The crackdown is a pruning process for communal goals. However, as the crackdown of Asia’s largest market China continues, it’s expected with great certainty that resources ( Humans, and Capital) would find their way into Africa. It would be done as a cover measure by firms who wish to see a surge in their annual turn over. Whilst largely the actions of the regulatory bodies are seen as vindictive communist command to put China’s beloved Alibaba Founder in line, this actions undisputable holds value. Indeed, no man, either good or bad should not be too big else he competes with the gods. Men rarely live humbly.

Also, it must be understood that humans are creatures of greed and possess within themselves the potential to do anything to be satisfied. By the way that is the whole essence of economics- finding ways to make the limited resource satisfy needs at scale. Regulators just make sure that limited resources do not concentrate on few, it’s the prosperity of all that matters. This human negative tendencies creates the need for Accountability.

But this incident offers a bright side. It is said in Western Nigeria that, “Omo buruku lojo ti e”, translated, ” Even a bad child has days of relevance”. This crack down holds massive value if it could be managed wisely.

The Tech Investors (Service) should route the same path their manufacturing counterpart did when China was dense. They should come down to Africa.

Although I am skeptical of Nigeria and other big goons in terms of attracting funds for startup due to dynamic regulatory issues- it may not appear so but if heavy cash comes in, then we would see zealous regulations. Regulations in the big goons may be slow because they copy but it’s always dynamic and harsh- Tough love. Nevertheless, it would be largely for all, especially the vast untapped market.

Whilst in the past Africa witnessed massive funds go to limited areas. This has the potential to grow the tech service sector in other parts thus helping in the unification of the country thereby aiding the implementation of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). I expect Asia investors to go to a less regulated region- Tanzania- of the continent capitalizing on their little advancement in knowledge against the backdrop of impressive development.

Updated with: So, since the thought of the coming of Asians is materializing has seen with Softbank investment in Opay and Didi vacancy, it expedient we look into the players that would make this a smooth sail: The Regulators, Investor and Tech Entrepreneur.

The Tech Entrepreneurs

There is a western Nigeria proverb that goes, “Ayo ló n pá ??yán” , this is translated to mean it is excessive unguarded joy that kills a man not hardship! This joy certainly comes from the realization of a blessing. For the sake of perspective: If there is anything, most third world battles aside, bad leadership is the resource curse- a situation where abundance of resources brings poor development as compared to the expected enormous prosperity. And since the funds coming here are to help make industrialization attainable it is good we escape silly mistakes by handling the excitement with moderation.

This may seem misplaced, however if you look closely there are tech firms who spend lavishly as soon as they encounter cash because of their immaturity due to early exposure to large cash. From Wework’s fiasco to Wirecard fraud, Car45 ruins(a working dead firm), Uber slips not forgetting the shameful fall of Archegos- which is a red flag that stupidity still exists amongst humans- insider information reveals that lack of character accounts for all this collapse. So personal values of founding members must remain central if longevity is a thing of priority.

The Tech Investors

Undoubtedly, the coming of this firm into this space is not for charity, if they wanted they could do it to their kinsmen, rather it’s explosive growth from an urge to be so big that the touch sky and last till the end of time, largely something impossible! This explosive growth regardless of its loftiness comes with the possibilities of unrealistic expectations which may trigger them engaging in corporate practice which are far worse than what orchestrated their voyage.

The Regulators

Undeniably these men are the working fluid in this system and should be very careful as to how they set up policies- not too soft else’s they would create a situation where they would have to undo later and not too hard else they would drive away investment. It knows that coping is much easier than creating however we have. to be very dynamic with our backwardness else we would lose out on this window of opportunities.