We Need Chinese Startup Accelerators
The balance of technology innovation is stabilizing (not shifting) and we have to recognize that big time in Nigeria: it is the rise of the rest, and China has grown up in tech. While we continue to revere Silicon Valley [nothing wrong with that; it deserves it], it is very important we find ways to get China in the game. I think besides largely hosting U.S. incubators and accelerators in Nigeria, time has come to bring Chinese entrepreneurs to also inspire. China is putting huge numbers and we cannot pretend we are not noticing.
Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing app that is Uber's biggest rival overseas, has raised another $4 billion to aid its international expansion. Softbank and Mubadala Capital, a state fund of Abu Dhabi, both participated. Didi said it would use the cash to buy a fleet of 1 million new-energy vehicles (NEV) and the expansion of charging infrastructure ... It means that Didi has raised nearly $10 billion this year alone. (Fortune Newsletter)
I do believe that we can learn from the Chinese on how to build modern tech companies. They are doing so well, and we have to find ways to understand them. When one startup (Didi Chuxing) can raise $10 billion in a year, it simply means all the stars have aligned. The template that makes that possible must be institutionalized because it is working. Silicon Valley looks stale in some ways; China has the freshness at the moment. The Chinese makers need to be our teachers.
