Expat tech start-ups can help African local education and employment

Africa’s low competition and huge number of business opportunities make it an option for tech start-ups.

Whilst Africa may well be low on the list of desirable locations for expat tech start-ups, those who’re brave enough to accept the challenge will be amazed at the number of uncontested opportunities across the vast continent. Business models which already work elsewhere in the world can easily be tweaked to create new models aimed at Africa, thus making a serious impact in states with real issues such as employment and access to education.

Unlike in the rest of the world, Africa’s biggest challenge for incoming tech entrepreneurs is a serious lack of venture capital investors, whereas low internet penetration and bureaucracy can be circumvented with comparative ease. The local investment community isn’t yet clued in to the potential of tech, and attracting interested parties whilst still overseas raises problems for would-be expat entrepreneurs.

One forward-looking tech team’s project, originally based in Angola but now expanding to several other African states, has found a niche as a job recruitment board – a totally new concept in the majority of African countries. At present, the online company site is in a monopoly situation, having raised start-up funds from both small and larger-scale investors, and is now expanding its coverage to include offline services and broadening its reach by means of helping people deal with issues such as education access and employment.

As the vast majority of African countries are as yet unexplored by expat tech professionals, those willing to give it a go will be in the forefront of the continent’s small business-based tech revolution. Most importantly, as in the above example, tech innovation can bring real benefits to the entire region, helping to solve many problems and making locals’ lives richer as a result. As in other developing world regions, a tech revolution in Africa could bring on humanitarian benefits across the continent as well as enriching expats brave enough to take it on.