Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects (Palgrave Studies of Entrepreneurship in Africa)

This pioneering collection seeks to understand why and how some digital enterprises in Africa progress while others firms either stagnate or regress. Using a range of detailed case studies, it addresses the challenges and barriers that are in place and how some outstanding digital firms deal with operating in a hostile business environment. While digital platforms have created equal access for small businesses, many digital entrepreneurs in Africa continue to struggle with local environments replete with corruption, and other economic inefficiencies. The contributions move the debate forward by addressing the challenges, opportunities, and prospects of digital enterprise in Africa. Placing special emphasis on how African new entrant digital firms are shaping the landscape and forging a new beginning for Africa, this book offers entrepreneurial perspectives to both researchers and policy-makers seeking to support and stimulate entrepreneurship in the new era." Foreword 7 Ashok Ranchhod Obituary 10 Contents 12 Notes on Contributors 15 List of Figures 19 List of Tables 21 Part I: Introduction 22 1: Introduction to African Digital Entrepreneurship 23 References 26 2: Innovation Hubs in Africa: What Do They Really Do for Digital Entrepreneurs? 28 2.1 From Internet Access to Impact: The Promise of Digital Entrepreneurship 28 2.2 Africa’s Digital Entrepreneurship Boom and the Rise of Innovation Hubs 31 2.3 Hubs Depend on Entrepreneurs but Participation Is Socially Complex 34 2.4 Do Hubs Make a Difference for Entrepreneurs? 38 2.5 Hub Practice Needs a Dyadic View, Away from Linear Thinking 40 2.6 Conclusion 43 References 43 Part II: Fin-tech: Trust, Legitimacy, and Digital Infrastructure—The Promise, Prospects, and Challenges 48 3: Renegotiating Legitimacy in the Digital Age: Insights from Nigeria 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 “How to Start and Scale-up Digital Enterprises in Africa”: The Challenges of Establishing Legitimacy—Interview with Olalekan Olude 51 Background of Olalekan Olude 51 Interview Extract 52 3.3 The Incumbents’ Advantage and Strategies for Establishing Legitimacy 59 3.4 Digital Banking in Nigeria: Infrastructure, Trust, and Awareness Challenges 60 3.5 The Origins of Nigerian Banking and the Challenges of Legitimacy 62 3.6 Method of Data Collection and Analysis 63 3.7 Findings and Discussion of Results 65 Barriers to Digital Banking in Nigeria: Willingness versus Relational Trust 65 Investment in Digital Infrastructure (Slow but Steady) 67 Digital Infrastructure: How Open Is Good Enough for Healthy Cooperation between Incumbents versus New Entrants? 68 Digital Banking: The Preferred Approaches for Nigerian Incumbent Banks 70 Wema Bank Plc Nigeria: The Legitimacy Journey and Digital Footprints 72 Illustrative Examples of Good Practices: What Can We Learn from Wema Bank’s Digital Banking Strategy, the ALAT? 74 How Wema Bank Actively Uses the Digital Space and Social Media to Establish Legitimacy in a Digital Age 75 3.8 Conclusion: Establishing Digital Legitimacy Is an Active Not a Passive Process 76 References 78 Part III: Media-tech: The Creative Destruction and Reconstruction of African Digital Media 82 4: The African New Media Digital Revolution: Some Selected Cases from Nigeria 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.2 Historical Timeline of Media Evolution in Sub-Saharan Africa 85 4.3 Nigeria’s Digital Media Landscape 88 4.4 Micro and Technological Entrepreneurship in Nigeria 90 4.5 Method of Data Collection and Analysis 92 4.6 Findings and Discussion 94 Media Use: Profile and Perceptions 94 “Mobile First” Mindset 96 Technological Entrepreneurship as an Enabler of Innovation 97 4.7 Reflections on Prospects 99 References 100 5: The Impact of New Media (Digital) and Globalisation on Nollywood 104 5.1 Introduction 104 5.2 Digital Production 107 5.3 Digital Distribution 110 5.4 Digital Marketing 114 5.5 Methodology 117 5.6 Discussion of Findings 118 Description of Movie Making in Nigeria Since 2008 118 Impact of Digital Technology on Nollywood 121 Nollywood Challenges (Production, Distribution, and Marketing) 122 Suggestions on the Way Forward 124 Other Challenges 127 5.7 Conclusions 132 References 132 Part IV: Animation and Games: Unlimited Opportunities for Exploration 137 6: Shifting Cultural Capital: Kenyan Arts in Digital Spaces 138 6.1 Shifting Cultural Capital: Kenyan Arts in Digital Spaces 138 6.2 Technological Geographies 139 6.3 But Is It ‘Authentic’? 142 6.4 Curating the Virtual 148 6.5 Digital Visibility and Invisibility 151 6.6 Flowing from the Immaterial to the Physical 152 References 153 Part V: Inclusive-tech: Gender Inequality, Poverty, and Digital Ecosystems 157 7: Technopreneurship: A Discursive Analysis of the Impact of Technology on the Success of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa 158 7.1 Introduction 158 7.2 Women’s Entrepreneurship in South Africa 159 7.3 ICT Infrastructure for Businesses in South Africa 161 7.4 The Digital Gender Divide 164 7.5 The Gender Gap in Business Activities 166 7.6 Women Entrepreneurs in the Digital Era: The myth of high returns 170 7.7 The Future of Women’s Entrepreneurship: The Impact of Automation 173 7.8 Bridging the Digital Divide 176 7.9 Conclusion and Recommendations 179 References 180 8: The Nature of Corporate Digital Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Ghana 185 8.1 Introduction 185 8.2 Literature Review 188 Agriculture in Ghana 188 Agricultural Entrepreneurship 190 Agricultural Technology 192 8.3 Methodology 195 8.4 Findings and Discussions 196 Profile of Corporate Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Ghana 196 Objective One: Improvement of Agricultural Activities Through Technology 197 Objective Two: Nurturing Entrepreneurship Through Technology 199 Objective Three: Challenges Faced by Digital Corporate Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Ghana 200 8.5 Conclusion and Future Studies 201 References 202 9: Agri-tech Opportunities at the Bottom of the Pyramid: How Big Is the Opportunity and How Little Has Been Exploited? Some Selected Cases in Nigeria 209 9.1 Introduction 209 9.2 The Rice Production Policy 211 9.3 Rice Processing in Nigeria 212 9.4 Case Studies: Prime Wave Limited and Al-Wabel Star Trading Company Limited 214 Prime Wave Limited 215 Al-Wabel Trading Company Limited 215 9.5 Analysis and Findings 219 9.6 Conclusions 224 Implications for Policymaking 225 Implications for Rice Paddy Farmers 225 Implications for Digital Entrepreneurs 226 Implications for Research in Digital Entrepreneurship 227 9.7 Recommendations 227 References 229 10: What Next for Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa? 231 10.1 Motivation 231 10.2 African Entrepreneurship 234 10.3 Entrepreneurship Ecosystems 239 10.4 Animation and Games 241 10.5 Inclusive Technology 242 Further Reading 243 References 246 Index 251 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction to African Digital Entrepreneurship (Nasiru D. Taura, Elvira Bolat, Nnamdi O. Madichie)....Pages 3-7 Innovation Hubs in Africa: What Do They Really Do for Digital Entrepreneurs? (Nicolas Friederici)....Pages 9-28 Front Matter ....Pages 29-29 Renegotiating Legitimacy in the Digital Age: Insights from Nigeria (Nasiru D. Taura, Obiajulu Christopher Ede, Oladokun Ogunniyi)....Pages 31-63 Front Matter ....Pages 65-65 The African New Media Digital Revolution: Some Selected Cases from Nigeria (Elvira Bolat)....Pages 67-87 The Impact of New Media (Digital) and Globalisation on Nollywood (Nnamdi O. Madichie, Bamidele O. Ajakaiye, Vanessa Ratten)....Pages 89-121 Front Matter ....Pages 123-123 Shifting Cultural Capital: Kenyan Arts in Digital Spaces (Paula Callus)....Pages 125-143 Front Matter ....Pages 145-145 Technopreneurship: A Discursive Analysis of the Impact of Technology on the Success of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa (B. N. O. Irene)....Pages 147-173 The Nature of Corporate Digital Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Ghana (George Acheampong)....Pages 175-198 Agri-tech Opportunities at the Bottom of the Pyramid: How Big Is the Opportunity and How Little Has Been Exploited? Some Selected Cases in Nigeria (Ali Muhammad Garba)....Pages 199-220 What Next for Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa? (Nnamdi O. Madichie, Nasiru D. Taura, Elvira Bolat)....Pages 221-240 Back Matter ....Pages 241-242