There is a recurring narrative with technology in Africa known as "leapfrogging". The idea is that Africa was so far behind in certain infrastructure that developed nations had built, that the introduction of modern innovative and disruptive technologies worked well in Africa and leapfrogged (or just skipped over) the construction of incremental infrastructure. The narrative is mostly commonly used to refer to the introduction of mobile networks that leapfrogged wireline networks in achieving relative ubiquity as the method of internet access across the continent. It's also used to describe mobile money, preceded by the use of airtime minute top ups as a form of currency transfer that bypassed banking systems. Given the tremendous incumbency of centralized legacy infrastructure in developed nations, and the relative lack of it across Africa, leapfrogging has and will continue to be an important trend in the development of African economies.
Moving Beyond VC in Africa
Moving Beyond VC in Africa
Moving Beyond VC in Africa
There is a recurring narrative with technology in Africa known as "leapfrogging". The idea is that Africa was so far behind in certain infrastructure that developed nations had built, that the introduction of modern innovative and disruptive technologies worked well in Africa and leapfrogged (or just skipped over) the construction of incremental infrastructure. The narrative is mostly commonly used to refer to the introduction of mobile networks that leapfrogged wireline networks in achieving relative ubiquity as the method of internet access across the continent. It's also used to describe mobile money, preceded by the use of airtime minute top ups as a form of currency transfer that bypassed banking systems. Given the tremendous incumbency of centralized legacy infrastructure in developed nations, and the relative lack of it across Africa, leapfrogging has and will continue to be an important trend in the development of African economies.