When you study the history of most tech scenes including Sillicon valley, you would quickly come to the conclusion that what is happening in Africa now is not new, the only difference is context so in a recent interview @ http://afrinnovator.com/blog/2013/04/15/rethinking-startup-finance-in-africa... I tried to provide some answers to the challenges Michelle and others have raised. This is a visionary process which needs diligence but thrives on the hype of total world takeover (no matter where you coming from) with some "luck" -- Bill Gates and his colleagues at Microsoft would always tell you there were companies that worked harder and better than us, we just won the lottery.... Eric here Sent from my iPhone On Apr 30, 2013, at 11:26, Gideon <gideonrop@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is an interesting article by Michelle Atagana

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/30/opinion/africa-innovation-tech-atagana/ind... (CNN) -- In today's world of catchy buzzwords, a current favorite is "Africa is rising." Africa's tech scene is a soaring firebird and all the techies on the continent will tell you something game-changing is coming and Africans will build it.

In case you haven't heard, apparently the next Facebook, Google or Microsoft will come from Africa. That's what the young mavericks are working towards.

In Africa, we worship at the altar of innovation

Innovation is the fountain from which most African entrepreneurs drink -- their raison d'etre. This is hardly surprising on a continent that leapfrogged the tech scene, producing insanely useful mobile solutions. It seems it is only logical that the continent will build the next big thing.

Michelle Atagana But innovation has become quite formulaic for the quick-talking 20-somethings just itching to change the world. Just like any formula, it has strict rules: find a problem, build an app to solve it, develop for smartphone and add social integration.

Gideon Rop

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