Over the years of attending various tech events across Africa, I have noticed a common theme: Many innovative solutions are created without a clear understanding of local needs or sustainable business models. It is inspiring to see the passion and creativity, but without aligning these innovations with practical, market-driven strategies, they often struggle to make a lasting impact.
For example, in Tanzania, several start-ups have tried to introduce ride-hailing and delivery apps copied directly from models in Europe or the United States. While the technology worked, the services failed to scale because they did not account for local infrastructure challenges such as poor digital payment penetration or unreliable internet connectivity. Similarly, agricultural apps designed abroad often struggle when deployed here because they ignore language barriers, local farming methods or the fact that many farmers rely on feature phones rather than smartphones.
Another challenge is building solutions without a solid plan for deployment, monetisation or scalability. A case in point is the wave of e-learning platforms launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were free or donor-funded pilots, but without clear business models they quickly faded once initial support ended. By contrast, platforms like M-Pesa in Kenya or NALA in Tanzania have thrived because they combined innovation with a clear monetisation model and direct relevance to local users.
What I have learnt is that for tech development in Africa to truly thrive, we need to focus on solving real local problems with context-specific solutions. Successful examples include Rwanda’s use of Zipline drones to deliver medical supplies to rural hospitals, or Nigeria’s Paystack which tailored online payments to local business needs before expanding globally. These solutions worked not because they were technically advanced alone, but because they addressed pressing local challenges and built strong, sustainable business strategies around them.
Let us aim to create solutions that not only showcase our technical skills but also genuinely serve our communities—because technology’s greatest power lies in empowering the people it is meant to serve
