britone mwasaru

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what to work on exactly; after spending 6+ years working in the community space in technology. Then Covid-19 pandemic hit the globe. During the early days of the pandemic, I wrote about Education and Covid-19. In 2021, I am reflecting on some areas that a government, non-profit, or a new business can focus on to move forward. 

Technology has proven to be vital as businesses, schools and communities switched to remote working amidst this pandemic. This is evident in the revenue growth of top technology companies:

Business

Cloud and its adoption through different services are going to be key in moving forward. During the pandemic, many government agencies grappled with how to support businesses through different relief funds. One of the key reasons for this problem is the lack of records to know the exact number of small businesses in existence  (especially sole proprietorships or self-employed) and clarity in their revenues.  It’s also hard to track employment in these businesses.

With very limited data; governments and organizations looking to support businesses face challenges of fraud and it gets harder to support these entities. With cloud solutions that include inventory, sales, and invoicing a government, bank, or other institution, can affect the financial status of many businesses in the country. In countries like Estonia, the government takes a leading role in rolling out technologies that can easily track different business entities through secure means. Businesses that use cloud solutions can comfortably provide data to financial institutions that can then be used to provide access to loans or pandemic protection loans. A good example is how Square Capital, PayPal and Intuit in the USA were able to roll out Paycheck Protection Program loans application by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

1/4 Square Capital has received U.S. Treasury and SBA approval to be a PPP lender, and we will start rolling out our PPP loan applications this week. We continue to work with our partner Celtic Bank as they have existing expertise as a leading SBA lender.

— Jackie Reses (@jackiereses) April 13, 2020

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For a company like Square, it’s easy to get businesses to apply for loans and better assess the eligibility of different businesses through the customer dashboard. This allows for faster approvals and in turn, businesses can access the loans. For financial institutions, this can support the reduction of fraud. For the government, it gets easier to design policies when the data is easily available.

We will notify sellers when their application is available via Square Dashboard, starting with employers whose application data we can verify automatically. We expect to expand access to more small businesses soon.

— Jackie Reses (@jackiereses) April 13, 2020

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This is why I like businesses such as StockApp Africa. This platform can easily be used to provide SMEs with access to loans and capital and also give institutions like county government insights to businesses within the respective counties. Beyond access to loans, businesses can run a small team that is data-driven with insights from cloud solutions. Insights like inventory flow, sales, and human resources go a long way to define the strategy and growth opportunities for businesses.

For instance, Institutions like the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) that have access to these businesses are in a good position to drive the adoption of cloud solutions like StockApp Africa.

Technology Talent

As demand for cloud solutions grows, there is a need for skills to build, run and operate different cloud solutions. There is also a need to build new software services that will meet our local needs. We, therefore need to invest in growing our software and cloud skills within the country. This is why I am committed to different programs run by Pwani Teknowgalz. They are enabling young girls and women access software and digital skills through programs like CodeHack and Coders at American Spaces. Ergo, they are able to support our future workforce access digital skills.

A report by Google and IFC notes the low number of software developers on the African continent.

There are 690,000 professional developers across Africa with more than 50% concentrated in 5 key African countries: Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa

This means that there is a huge opportunity to provide coding bootcamps that are accessible or introduce programs that will supplement what is being provided in the universities through computing courses. Folks who access these skills will be able to work remotely, support new business/startups and provide much needed skills in a technology-driven future.

Bootcamps focused on coding and computer science have emerged as an important pipeline for tech talent. These short, intense, workforce-aligned training programs are already graduating over 36,000 students each year. (Report by Christensen Institute, https://www.christenseninstitute.org/publications/bootcamps/) 

Passion Economy

Through my work at Swahilipot Hub, I have interacted with a lot of creatives who are part of the community. The pandemic affected a lot of these creatives because they couldn’t get out to perform their art. I noted some DJs were doing live sessions through Facebook and YouTube where they could place M-Pesa Paybill numbers and folks could send them money to show appreciation for their performances. This creates a new opportunity for creatives to be able to fund their passions during the weekends or as a fulltime endeavour. Platforms like Patreon and Buy me coffee allow creatives to fund their passions through donations/tips/subscriptions from their fans. The Venture firm a16z put out an interesting blog post on this topic titled 1,000 True Fans? Try 100 that looks at the passion economy. This will allow creatives to perform from the comfort of their homes and build intimate relationships with their fan base. Why struggle to try to reach 1000s of fans when you can reach 100s who will directly fund your passion without going through entities like YouTube?

My friend, Angela Mumbi,  runs her business Malaika Kidz Fashion Academy) through digital tools like Zoom. Are her students the creatives that will leverage digital to fund their passions?

Hubs and Accelerators

The Google and IFC report looks at the role that hubs and accelerators can play in Africa’s Digital Economy and it notes:

Lack of reliable data and data backed evidence of positive impact are challenges for accelerators and hubs. While accelerator impacts are positive, on average around the globe, the results of their impact are more mixed (or absent) in emerging markets. Most accelerators conduct limited monitoring and evaluation at the organizational level, but without data to back up decisions, many accelerators and hubs waste time and money testing out different models, investing in different verticals, and trying different projects in an attempt to find out what works and what doesn’t. Ultimately, they either find success or shut down their operations. However, as more emphasis is placed on data collection, this challenge should be mitigated over time, allowing accelerators to make more data-backed and data-driven decisions.

Even for these spaces, there is a growing need for a data-driven approach that allows proper allocation of resources and even access to future funding. Can hubs be the accelerators for cloud adoption, digital skills development and the passion economy? Hubs are essentially communities that include students, creatives, startups and business owners. Doesn’t this put the hubs in the right position to push the cloud adoption agenda through leveraging their networks and capacity to offer engagement opportunities for cloud solutions startups and businesses? With the students and those not in formal education accessing the hubs that have internet connections, it’s a huge opportunity to provide digital skills and allow many access to freelance and employment opportunities through certifications. I think the hubs’ focus on startups through incubation shouldn’t be a huge or core focus. Startups’ success rate is very low and exits are rare. 

Non-consumption

There are enormous applications of technology to improve livelihoods and the economy though there is a large percentage that doesn’t have access to smartphones and the internet. This is where telecommunication companies are targeting this non-consumption by providing financial plans to purchase cheap smartphones. This is amazing though internet access is still expensive. Apart from smartphones and the internet; mobile money is expensive for both businesses and customers to use as a payment method. Cash is still the most preferred payment method. 

Reducing transaction fees and business’ costs to maintain pay bills would drastically increase adoption. This will reduce profits but in the long term allow telecommunications companies to increase adoption and build on top of mobile money. In countries like China, technology companies like Alipay have very minimal fees and can provide other services like credit to business, logistics and inventory management. Mobile money can be the rail that allows Safaricom to be the technology company that will provide a single platform for businesses.

Safaricom is big enough with capital to make these kinds of bets that will push the digital economy but again startups can come build these and get acquired by Safaricom.

Other areas:

There are many other areas I have not covered like health. Health is a sector where public health has really failed tremendously and looks the private sector is where we can get better services. With that in mind, how do we design health services where people can contribute towards their health insurance. This is something I don’t really have experience in and cannot share a lot on. Same with education, how do we ensure that a large percentage of our population get access to quality education that provides a level field for everyone so as to compete in the same market.

Links:

• Google & IFC Report https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/e358c23f-afe3-49c5-a509-034257688580/e-Conomy-Africa-2020.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=nmuGYF2
• PayPal, Intuit & Square approved to offer loans to small businesses through coronavirus relief program https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/13/paypal-intuit-square-approved-to-offer-loans-to-small-businesses-through-coronavirus-relief-program/

Please do share your thoughts in the comments section 🙂

Thanks to Angela Mumbi for the help in writing this post.