Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa

The hope and hype about African digital entrepreneurship, contrasted with the reality on the ground in local ecosystems. In recent years, Africa has seen a digital entrepreneurship boom, with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into tech cities, entrepreneurship trainings, coworking spaces, innov...

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Главные авторы: Friederici, Nicolas, Wahome, Michel, Graham, Mark
Формат: Online
Язык:английский
Опубликовано: The MIT Press 2022
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Online-ссылка:ONIX_20220221_9780262362849_124
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author Friederici, Nicolas
Wahome, Michel
Graham, Mark
author_browse Friederici, Nicolas
Graham, Mark
Wahome, Michel
author_facet Friederici, Nicolas
Wahome, Michel
Graham, Mark
author_sort Friederici, Nicolas
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description The hope and hype about African digital entrepreneurship, contrasted with the reality on the ground in local ecosystems. In recent years, Africa has seen a digital entrepreneurship boom, with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into tech cities, entrepreneurship trainings, coworking spaces, innovation prizes, and investment funds. Politicians and technologists have offered Silicon Valley–influenced narratives of boundless opportunity and exponential growth, in which internet-enabled entrepreneurship allows Africa to “leapfrog” developmental stages to take a leading role in the digital revolution. This book contrasts these aspirations with empirical research about what is actually happening on the ground. The authors find that although the digital revolution has empowered local entrepreneurs, it does not untether local economies from the continent's structural legacies. Drawing on a five-year research project, the authors show how entrepreneurs creatively and productively adapt digital technologies to local markets rather than dreaming of global dominance, achieving sustainable businesses by scaling based on relationships and customizing digital platform business models for African infrastructure challenges. The authors examine African entrepreneurial ecosystems; show that African digital entrepreneurs have begun to form a new professional class, becoming part of a relatively exclusive cultural and economic elite; and discuss the impact of Silicon Valley's mythologies and expectations. Finally, they consider the implications of their findings and offer recommendations to policymakers and others.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-786042024-03-30T12:52:34Z Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa Friederici, Nicolas Wahome, Michel Graham, Mark Entrepreneurship African history Web-marketing thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJH Entrepreneurship / Start-ups thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history The hope and hype about African digital entrepreneurship, contrasted with the reality on the ground in local ecosystems. In recent years, Africa has seen a digital entrepreneurship boom, with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into tech cities, entrepreneurship trainings, coworking spaces, innovation prizes, and investment funds. Politicians and technologists have offered Silicon Valley–influenced narratives of boundless opportunity and exponential growth, in which internet-enabled entrepreneurship allows Africa to “leapfrog” developmental stages to take a leading role in the digital revolution. This book contrasts these aspirations with empirical research about what is actually happening on the ground. The authors find that although the digital revolution has empowered local entrepreneurs, it does not untether local economies from the continent's structural legacies. Drawing on a five-year research project, the authors show how entrepreneurs creatively and productively adapt digital technologies to local markets rather than dreaming of global dominance, achieving sustainable businesses by scaling based on relationships and customizing digital platform business models for African infrastructure challenges. The authors examine African entrepreneurial ecosystems; show that African digital entrepreneurs have begun to form a new professional class, becoming part of a relatively exclusive cultural and economic elite; and discuss the impact of Silicon Valley's mythologies and expectations. Finally, they consider the implications of their findings and offer recommendations to policymakers and others. 2022-02-21T15:13:11Z 2022-02-21T15:13:11Z 2020 book ONIX_20220221_9780262362849_124 9780262362849 9780262538183 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/78604 eng The MIT Press image/jpeg n/a https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12453.001.0001 The MIT Press The MIT Press ae0cf962-f685-4933-93d1-916defa5123d 9780262362849 9780262538183 The MIT Press 336 Cambridge open access
spellingShingle Entrepreneurship
African history
Web-marketing
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJH Entrepreneurship / Start-ups
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history
Friederici, Nicolas
Wahome, Michel
Graham, Mark
Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title_full Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title_fullStr Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title_full_unstemmed Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title_short Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa
title_sort digital entrepreneurship in africa
topic Entrepreneurship
African history
Web-marketing
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJH Entrepreneurship / Start-ups
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history
topic_facet Entrepreneurship
African history
Web-marketing
thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJH Entrepreneurship / Start-ups
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history
url ONIX_20220221_9780262362849_124
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