Juliet Ehimuan, the Founder of Beyond Limits Africa says Africa needs to take advantage of its population and market opportunity by attracting investment in technology, stressing that 77 per cent of the investment into Africa was into 4 key countries. She notes that the economic impact of Africa’s tech and creative scene needs to be improved upon. She joins CNBC Africa for this discussion.
Now, Juliet Ehimuan, the Founder of Beyond Limits Africa says Africa needs to take advantage of its population and market opportunity by attracting investment in technology, while stressing that 77 per cent of the investment into Africa was into 4 key countries. She notes that the economic impact of Africa’s tech and creative scene needs to be improved upon. She joins me now live in our LEGO studio for more on this. Thank you so much for joining us on the show today, Dr Ehimuan. And really now, when we take a look at Africa’s tech and creative ecosystem at this moment, the scene is booming with a whole lot of activity. And this also lays credence to the sort of resounding themes and cues we′ve gotten so far from the community, the need to leverage knowledge, strategies, networks to ensure that we scale the offerings and then are much more tactical in our approach to entering new markets. Let′s start with that conversation. Yes. So, you′re absolutely right about the fact that in the last few years, we′ve seen a real boost in entrepreneurial activity and some great successes as well. And we′re seeing great solutions, a lot powered by technology, solutions to local problems in the fintech space, in health tech, in agri-tech, with logistics and even in retail. That′s all very positive. And we′ve seen the birth of a number of unicorns. We have about 12 unicorns to date that have been created in the last decade. But there′s still a lot of room for growth. I mean, I just mentioned 12 unicorns. When you compare that to, that′s for a whole continent with 1.3 billion people. If you compare that to the UK, a country, in the last decade, the number of unicorns is almost 200. So, there′s a lot of work to be done. And I think there′s a lot of interest in Africa and in African businesses, but there isn′t enough understanding about what it takes to win in this market, what it takes to navigate our markets, also understanding that the African market is quite diverse. You have 54 countries with all different nuances, and it′s important to understand the market. So, it′s important that we are very deliberate and intentional in creating linkages, linkages that connect investors, that connect startups, that connect ecosystems, so that we can learn from one another, we can ensure that we remove some of the barriers to collaboration and partnerships. And definitely, we also have to face the fact that it′s important to acknowledge the role of information here at the end of the day. But let′s look at the broader picture of how Africa or Nigerian businesses at this moment, because there′s no company abroad that wouldn′t look towards Africa. But how are we pacing ourselves when we are looking through the metrics of bridging the gap within infrastructure, when we′re looking at the service provider and developer perspective as well? How are we fostering conversations within this regard? How are we attending to the issues? How are we creating an enabling environment overall when we′re looking at harnessing our local content? How are we looking at digital skills? I would like your take around this and how Beyond Limit Africa is also shaping the conversation here for us to fill the current gaps, because really, the funding squeezes there, we must not lie, but we need that bigger pool of investment too. Absolutely. So, what′s great about the continent is that there′s a lot of talent. We have amazing young people doing great things in entrepreneurship and across board. But also, to win in this market requires an ecosystem play, because if I′m a FinTech player, for example, I need enabling policies. I need infrastructure. I need the OEMs. There′s so many dependencies for my success. And so, it′s important that we′re also very deliberate in bringing the ecosystem together around specific issues that can drive growth. And this is one of the things we′re doing with the Dice platform for Beyond Limits, which is a platform intended to bring key stakeholders in the tech and business ecosystems together for knowledge sharing, best practices, collaboration, partnership. So, you have policy makers in the room. You have startups, multilateral organizations, foreign missions as well, because we′re talking about collaboration and skill, not just within Africa, but to global markets as well. A lot of the solutions that are being created have a market in other regions as well. So, foreign missions as well, and just really making sure that we are bringing the ecosystem together to have stimulating conversations around the challenges, the opportunities, and create partnerships that can really fuel the growth. Definitely. We definitely need to look at all of these, because at the end of the day, cross-border collaborations and global partnerships are key to expanding the outlook. But talking about expansion of the outlook at this moment, let′s look at investment trends and the outlook for key markets. When we′re looking at Nigeria, Kenya, and then South Africa, for example, these are different players with interesting dynamics, simultaneously experiencing the global shocks as well, but there are different prospects on the table. Let′s do some assessment here on how you see the market flows. Yes. So, what we′ve seen is that investment has really flown to some key regions across the continent where you have, if you like, some of the hubs. For example, in North Africa, like Egypt, in West Africa, Nigeria, East Africa, Kenya, and South Africa. Also, the largest percentage of the investment has been to the fintech space. Now, the reason for that is because that′s a model that is easy to understand. It′s not easy to deliver on, but it′s easy to understand across borders. The reality is for every successful business out there, there are a thousand others that are doing great work, but they don′t have the necessary visibility or exposure to enable them to scale. So, I think it′s really important that that local market understanding and knowledge facilitating partnerships that help to create that deep market expertise so that we can uncover, we can discover and showcase some of these talents that require support to move to the next level, but are not getting that support at the moment. We need to institutionalise that so that we′re raising the game for a lot of entrepreneurs simultaneously and we can increase our success numbers. Yes, and talking about success numbers, it′s also important to wrap up this conversation with the creative economy at this moment now. How do we also continue to utilise and project as much as possible Africa′s rich heritage and our diversity? Now, talking about the creative economy, monetising effectively is still one area we are yet to really get right. What′s your recommendation here for creative entrepreneurs at this moment in terms of looking at the picture now in 2025 and how they should also think bigger? Yes, absolutely. So, this is one of the areas where technology is playing a very important role. We′re already seeing a lot of creatives being able to broadcast themselves more globally using digital platforms. As you rightly said, at the moment, in spite of all the creative energy we have, the creative economy contributes about 2.4% to GDP, which is really low, and there′s scope for increasing that. It really requires a lot more collaborations globally. We′ve seen some great ones, especially in the music and in the entertainment space, which is really great. Universal invested in Maven Records, I think it′s about a year now, and that′s a very positive story, but there′s room for a lot more. We′re seeing an increase in not just the established players but just regular content creators that have talent creating skits, comedy, short stories and all of that on platforms like YouTube and other digital platforms, and they are building an audience, a global audience, and in many cases, monetising. So, I think this is one of the areas where technology can play a very important enabling role. Well, we′d have to leave the conversation here for now, Dr Ihumwaan. Thanks a lot for your time on the show today. That was Juliet Ihumwaan, the founder of Beyond Limits Africa.
Theme: The need for Africa to attract more investments in technology and the digital economy to drive economic development and enhance entrepreneurial growth.
In a recent discussion with CNBC Africa, Juliet Ehimuan, the Founder of Beyond Limits Africa, emphasized the need for Africa to attract more investments in technology and the digital economy. Ehimuan highlighted that 77% of the investment into Africa is concentrated in just four key countries, signaling the importance of spreading investments across the continent. She pointed out that while Africa's tech and creative scene is currently booming with entrepreneurial activity and innovative solutions, there is still significant room for growth and development. With only 12 unicorns created in the last decade across the entire continent, compared to nearly 200 unicorns in the UK during the same period, Ehimuan stressed the importance of enhancing Africa's economic impact in these sectors. She emphasized the need for intentional strategies to navigate the diverse African market and create linkages between investors, startups, and ecosystems. Ehimuan addressed the significance of fostering cross-border collaborations and global partnerships to expand the outlook and drive growth. Beyond Limits Africa's Dice platform serves as a catalyst for bringing together key stakeholders in the tech and business ecosystems to facilitate knowledge sharing, best practices, collaboration, and partnership. By engaging policy makers, startups, multilateral organizations, foreign missions, and other entities, the platform aims to address challenges, explore opportunities, and fuel growth across the continent. When discussing investment trends and market dynamics in key African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, Ehimuan underscored the importance of directing investments to regions beyond the current hubs. While fintech has attracted the largest percentage of investment due to its cross-border appeal, Ehimuan emphasized the need for deep market expertise and visibility for all entrepreneurs to enhance success rates. By institutionalizing support systems and showcasing diverse talents, Africa can elevate its entrepreneurial ecosystem and drive sustainable growth. In the realm of the creative economy, Ehimuan highlighted the transformative role of technology in amplifying Africa's rich heritage and diversity on a global scale. While the creative economy currently contributes around 2.4% to GDP, there is immense potential for growth and monetization. Ehimuan encouraged creative entrepreneurs to leverage digital platforms for global exposure and revenue generation. By collaborating internationally and harnessing technology's enabling capabilities, creatives can expand their reach and increase their economic impact. As Africa seeks to position itself as a hub for innovation and creativity, Ehimuan's insights underscore the imperative of attracting investments, fostering partnerships, and leveraging technology to unlock the continent's full economic potential.
"It's important that we are very deliberate and intentional in creating linkages, linkages that connect investors, that connect startups, that connect ecosystems, so that we can learn from one another, we can ensure that we remove some of the barriers to collaboration and partnerships."
['Juliet Ehimuan', 'Beyond Limits Africa', 'Africa', 'technology', 'investment', 'digital economy', 'tech industry', 'creative economy', 'entrepreneurship', 'global partnerships']