The effects of small communities and independent creators on the African technology ecosystem

This article was contributed to TechGyant by Babatunde Fatai, a tech innovator shaping Africa’s digital future at MTN Nigeria.

Micheal E. Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, said in his report The Competitive Advantage of Nations, “National prosperity is created, not inherited.  It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, as classical economics insists. A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade”, and I couldn’t agree more. Ideally, Every country wants to be seen as a nation that is not in decline. Technological prowess and growth are some of the things that need to be achieved by that nation to be seen as growing and declining. While It remains true that the Government and its policies play a significant role in the quality and rate of growth of the technology ecosystem in the nation, one thing that cannot be overlooked is the contribution of small independent communities and independent creators outside large organizations and multinationals.

Consider the profound impact of spaces like CcHub Lagos, Nigeria’s first open innovation hub. Since its inception, it has supported hundreds of startups and launched social-impact projects like Lifebank, which uses technology to improve blood supply logistics. These hubs exemplify the critical role grassroots communities play in advancing national technological progress. Communities are reliable driving forces for growth, knowledge sharing, and support for people in underserved areas. They are a pillar to the growth and sustainability of any nation’s endeavor to grow, although so many of them are often overlooked by large organizations and the Government; hence, they lack the resources much need to achieve their goals and objectives, and consequently cannot deliver the level of much-needed impact they aim for. Those that survive learn to grow an ecosystem with consistency. They rely on reaching and impacting creators and people closest to them, be it a startup founder looking to connect with investors, a student looking to gain skills and knowledge in a particular technology, a business or technology leader in the private sector interested in impacting their community outside the corporate body or in getting ahead of the curve, or an enthusiast excited about the future possibilities of technology, there’s no denying the power of bringing them together in small platforms where knowledge sharing is prioritized, curiosity is encouraged.

By joining forces with like-minded individuals, they build and utilize the limited resources and opportunities as effectively as possible to help drive their individual goals and careers forward, improving the country in the long run. This article will focus on how essential small communities and independent creators are to a country’s
socio-economic and technological growth and how they are essential for emerging economies like Nigeria. It will also highlight some communities doing fantastic work across the continent.

Technology as a Pillar of National Development:

A nation’s competitiveness depends on its industry’s capacity to innovate and upgrade. How much of a role does technology play in facilitating the necessary growth and innovation? A WHOLE LOT!

Recent data reflects the growing impact of small communities and independent creators. According to Partech, African tech startups raised $5.2 billion in 2021, with fintech leading the charge, accounting for 63% of the funding. However, there’s a notable rise in other sectors, such as companies like Andela, which raised $100 million, pointing to the broader influence of grassroots innovation. This investment trend showcases the potential of small communities to drive significant economic and technological development in Africa.

Technology is a driver of economic growth; it increases productivity and efficiency in the nation and its industries and creates new industries and products that consequently lead to wealth creation and improve the quality of life of those in the country. Take Andela, a tech community turned global talent network, as an example. Andela has trained thousands of software developers across Africa, matching them with leading companies worldwide. Andela demonstrates how targeted initiatives can bridge global innovation gaps by focusing on capacity building and leveraging local talent. Looking objectively at how vital technology is, one would notice that a key way most powerful and developed nations show their strength is also through demonstrating their technological prowess, be it through super-sonic jets, catching rockets with chopsticks or building atomic nuclear reactors to generate electricity to drive industrialization.

As a human, looking at your everyday experience, you must have a million stories on how much technology affects your life and makes life more straightforward. As a nation, Nigeria ranks 113th out of 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII), which ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities, consisting of roughly 80 indicators. The GII is the only statistical body I would anchor my opinion of how developed we are as a nation. I have experienced firsthand how negatively impacted we are as a country due to a lack of growth in specific key technological sectors, including the medical sector, amongst many others. I know we are progressing in certain places, but I do not think anyone would argue that we still have many areas to improve. Yes, the Government has much to contribute towards this growth that needs to happen, either by direct involvement, policy changes, or investments or by indirect investments through providing a safe and trusted environment that would drive innovation. One key part we shouldn’t ignore is the small communities and independent creators, how much they bring to the table, and how much more they could do with the proper attention.

The Emergence of Small Communities and Independent Creators:

It is a biological imperative for us as humans to form tribes and communities, not just to increase our chance of survival but to collaborate and innovate. In the context of tech and social communities, it would be about resource sharing, exchanging ideas, and creating a platform for people to receive support from peers. The emergence of small tech communities and independent creators is more than merely a trend. It echoes our evolutionary past and a blueprint many developed societies utilize for sustained success and longevity. Through understanding and embracing this dynamic, we can harness the collective power of these pockets of innovation to achieve Nigeria’s more significant goals.

Nations create and sustain competitive advantage through a highly localized process, the groundwork of small communities, contributing significantly to the nation’s overall development. It goes beyond the billion dollars projects to the independent founders and creators of associations and networks who, out of significant cost to them, establish working communities with the main focus of improving those in their localized environments, even with little to no funding available for them to increase outreach and improve the quality of training materials and content.

One notable initiative is She Code Africa, a vibrant community founded by Ada Nduka Oyom in 2016 dedicated to empowering women in tech. Through mentorship programs, coding boot camps, and hackathons, they’ve reached over 17,000 women across the continent. Such efforts are vital in fostering inclusion and amplifying underrepresented voices in the African tech ecosystem. She Code Africa lends credence to my argument that no technological ecosystem, big or small, can ignore the effect and impact small communities and independent creators have on the ecosystem, especially in ecosystems where much growth is needed to catch up to the global boom of innovation.

The influence of these communities is evidenced by the surge in creator economies across Africa. A report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre highlights that the creator economy in Africa is not only about financial empowerment but also about cultural preservation and social change. However, the journey isn’t without challenges; the same report notes issues like digital literacy and access to technology as barriers that need to be addressed to fully leverage this potential.

Case Studies: Andela: Nurturing Africa’s Tech Talent

A few communities shaped who I am today, from AIESEC to African XR Community to CCHub and so much more. These groups, often driven by passion and purpose, foster innovation, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. From small tech communities to individual artists, their collective efforts, though seemingly modest, contribute significantly to the nation’s progress. By empowering individuals to pursue their passions and create value, we can unlock the full potential of our society and build a brighter future; this is why I decided to use Andela and her journey as a case study.

Andela, now a global tech talent company, has significantly impacted Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. Founded in 2014 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Christina Sass, Jeremy Johnson, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar Enegesi, and Brice Nkengsa, Andela’s mission is to develop exceptional software engineers in Africa. It started as a small community focused on training and mentoring young, talented individuals, many of whom came from humble backgrounds.

Andela was a buzzword when they started. They developed a rigorous selection process to identify raw talent, often overlooked by traditional recruitment methods. I have to say they motivated me to brush up on my skills when I was in school to meet up with the quality they were expecting. After going through their rigorous selection process, the selected individuals underwent training programs focusing on technical skills, soft skills, and professional development. One key thing they did well was connecting these talented engineers with global tech companies, providing them with high-paying remote jobs.

As is rife in this ecosystem, one of its biggest challenges early on was securing funding to scale operations across multiple African countries and ensuring the quality of its training programs. Perseverance and many other factors contributed to Andela being a model success story that similar communities can point to as a source of motivation to keep pushing forward.

Andela has trained thousands of software engineers, empowering them to contribute to the global tech industry. It has contributed to economic growth in Nigeria and other African countries and has demonstrated that anyone at any time can do great things from a small place, inspiring a new generation of young Africans to pursue careers in technology and fostering a vibrant tech ecosystem.

While Andela has made significant strides, it’s crucial to balance this success story with the broader context. Not all initiatives scale as effectively, and many small communities struggle with sustainability due to funding issues. For instance, a study by the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) in 2023 showed that 20 African startups had to shut down due to insufficient funding, illustrating the precarious nature of tech ventures in this ecosystem. Yet, the persistence of Andela and similar entities provides a blueprint for resilience and adaptability in the tech landscape.

My Experience: Contributions of Small Communities to Technological Innovation

I am no stranger to the impact small communities can have on an individual and a nation. When I was an undergraduate, it wasn’t long before I realized that helping other students study, learn new skills, and grow in areas they wish to not only make one feel good but also contribute to the total quality of the student populace. In 100level, I started holding tutorial sessions covering key courses and topics I understood well in collaboration with other students. It was a fantastic experience walking people through that journey of not fully grasping a concept to the eureka moment when they exclaim with satisfaction and understanding. It wasn’t long before these classes moved from just being school courses to programming and 3D modeling training.
Before teaching others, I was also a beneficiary of such training. I was once seated in a departmental library and modelled a simple game created by a coursemate with Autodesk Maya and Unity3D, and from that moment onward, I was glued. I learned all I could from that coursemate and the small group that always came to the library to use the high-speed internet cables for educational and recreational purposes. Some of us in that small group used this internet access to download courses and software–mostly from pirated websites, as we could not afford the licensing costs. It didn’t take me long to gain a mid-level understanding of 3D modeling with Autodesk Maya and building AR/VR & gaming experiences with Unity3D software.

Many students from the tutorial classes turned programming training sessions I later held while honing my skills in Unity3D have gone on to become very successful Founders and Software Developers for some of the largest companies in the world, including myself. Therefore, I can say with confidence that the seemingly irrelevant local push for knowledge transfer that we were involved in school propagated us this far. Our contribution to the nation’s technological ecosystem started from a tiny corner of the department, which in itself is a tiny part of the school and which in itself is a tiny corner of the nation.

Understanding the impact of small communities in fostering growth and development pushed me to find the African XR Community (AXRC), which comprises students, independent creators, developers, and technology enthusiasts striving towards adopting emerging technology solutions across Africa. I understand that with the lack of funding to drive things I needed to be innovative in achieving my goals for the community, which was to critically upskill the members and empower them for the future of work will be a hindrance. Hence, at the inception, I resorted to pleading with experts or people with the skills to teach community members for free. Many were happy to, and some, while they wish, they could, shied away because of one reason or the other. To limit the cost of logistics, most of our activities were held online through Google Meet, Zoom, and community Whatsapp groups. The latter makes for easy collaboration and near-instant exchange of ideas.

So far, over one hundred people have been trained via our community, many of whom are now gainfully employed. Inspired by this success, AXRC is waxing stronger. We have gradually moved from begging tutors to teach for free to paying a token for their time and catering to minor expenses like internet access that they may incur during the training. I mainly cover all of these expenses. I have kept the community alive and funded through my professional and personal endeavors. I believe that communities like AXRC and several other small communities are a net positive for Nigeria.

The grassroots nature of the African XR Community (AXRC) mirrors initiatives like India’s Startup Village, which has supported over 500 tech startups in their early stages. Both communities demonstrate that localized efforts, when scaled, can create waves of transformation in a nation’s technological landscape. Creators, though so many go unrecognized and underappreciated, through their work, should be seen as the fundamental building blocks of any strong National Technology Ecosystem. They might not write software or build apps, though many do. Still, their impact is undeniable: they simplify complex innovations and inspire adoption by tailoring these innovations to the reality of their society, thereby making technology accessible to broader audiences. By fostering knowledge, enthusiasm, and connections, creators enable technology to thrive in ways that large organizations and governmental institutions could never do.

Success stories from small communities like yours are part of a larger narrative in which grassroots efforts contribute to a vibrant tech ecosystem. Trends indicate a growing recognition of these contributions, with publications celebrating African startups transforming industries. However, it’s worth noting that these stories are often overshadowed by the dominance of larger tech firms in media narratives. This balance must be struck to provide a comprehensive view of the African tech scene’s health and potential.

Conclusion:

From what I have covered so far, you would have come to understand the significance of small communities and independent creators for emerging economies like Nigeria.
Here, creators and small communities are critical in fostering digital literacy, encouraging grassroots innovation, and bridging the gap between tech solutions and their end-users. They amplify local voices, build awareness of global opportunities, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by empowering individuals to participate in tech-enabled economies. Though often undervalued, their influence accelerates the social and economic transformation an economy like Nigeria needs; their journey is fraught with challenges, from securing funding to overcoming digital divides. Balancing this narrative, the Global Innovation Index (GII) places Nigeria at 113th out of 133, highlighting areas for improvement. The path to national development is paved with the contributions of small communities and independent creators.

Whether it’s Flutterwave’s transformative impact on payments or She Code Africa’s role in inclusivity, these initiatives prove that innovation often starts with small, intentional actions. Africa can unlock its full technological potential by fostering and supporting these communities.

Babatunde Fatai is a visionary leader in Africa’s emerging technologies ecosystem, driving innovation and digital transformation across the continent. Working and collaborating with
multinationals such as PwC and MTN, he pioneers advancements in AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies. A passionate futurist and advocate for youth empowerment and tech adoption, Babatunde hosts the XR Atlas Podcast and founded the African XR Community, inspiring a connected and innovative Africa. He can be seen and connected with on YouTube, LinkedIn and X – @ThisBabatunde