By Anvit Goyal, IMM Lead and Portfolio Analyst, LIVE Africa

Born in a cricket fanatic nation with more than 1 billion people playing the sport, you could surely guess where I’m from. If you failed to guess, it is India, I was no exception to the stronghold that the game has on fans from my country. I played cricket day in and out, and so did the majority of the 561,000 (2011) people living in my "small city." As I was growing up, so was technology. There were apps for almost anything and everything, including renting out a car. As a millennial and avid cricket fan, I always thought, why can't local cricket catch up with the innovation. Flashback to 2018 when I returned to India after having being deprived of playing my beloved sport for more than two years (this is the time I was busy attending the B-school in the United States). I set out to play cricket with some of the local kids where I learned about an app they were using to score and keep track of the match. After a little digging, I found out that a local person named Rani had taught herself coding to build the app product. The B-school ninja in me did a simple back of the hand calculation:

Rani cannot realize the potential business opportunity from the side project she undertook to complement playing cricket and she won't! Why?

The two primary reasons: firstly, women in technology historically have a harder time getting access to capital for their innovative products and secondly, she falls at the bottom of the pyramid, communities with limited access to resources and networks to develop, launch, and grow her tech-enabled business. 

The figures are, to say the least, appalling. Globally, 92% of the top venture capital firms are led by men, and female-founded startups receive only 2% of the total funding, and in Africa only 9% of the startups are female-led. Research notes that 6:1 is the ratio of investments given to all-male startups to the investments given to women-led startups. Venture capitalists are also reluctant to explore the bottom of the pyramid market where around four billion people are located and make on an average less than $2 per day because it is difficult to gauge the efficacy of these ventures. Moreover, these capitalists use traditional methods of technology evaluation, which chiefly rely upon monetary and tangible aspects rather than also including the social impact aspect into consideration.  

 In 2015, the UN and many international governments embarked upon this journey to make the world a better place to live by adopting 17 sustainable development goals that present a $12 trillion business opportunity. There has been a link to technology and changing the world right from the renaissance period up to this date. Women-led technology firms experience 35% higher ROI than those that are led by men and women invest 90% of these earnings back to the community as compared to around 40% for men. 

Through LIVE Africa, my team and I aim to tap into such innovations happening across developing and frontier markets and help more women find such exciting business opportunities that directly impacts the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. As aptly noted in the Harvard Business Review article “Cracking the Frontier Markets,” "The key to cracking frontier economies lies not in exploiting existing markets, although that may lead to some success. It lies in creating new markets that serve the billions of non-consumers unable to find a product or service to help them solve an important problem.” We at LIVE Africa will help both investors and entrepreneurs take this magical leap and that will propel you and the society! I aim to help more innovators like Rani realize the change they seek to achieve in the world.

Lydia Nylander and Michelle McKenze, hosts of the new podcast, Where’s the Funding interviewed Founder and CEO of LIVE Africa,

Mabinty Koroma-Moore and Partner, Wakiuru Njuguna. Listen to the two-part podcast!

Since launching, LIVE Africa has worked to develop a thoughtful approach to improving social and environmental outcomes. Like many businesses, we are changing our strategy and exploring new partnerships in light of COVID-19. The impact of this pandemic continues to affect all of us and is a driver to accelerate efforts to help small and growing businesses.

It is imperative that we work together to help uplift and invest more in communities challenged by this virus, especially historically marginalized people. To address growing financial gaps, LIVE Africa is raising and exploring opportunities to support businesses in Kenya. Rapid response financing vehicles are essential to mitigating financial and economic risks for SGBs particularly ones in frontier markets.

We will provide updates on our raise and open to discussing innovative models to support African businesses.

Spotlighting potential health innovations in Senegal and Madagascar

As the spread of COVID-19 changes the global landscape, there’s a greater spotlight on the continent of Africa. Many are questioning whether it can withstand this global pandemic, especially as headlines about the continent are mired in doom and predicting another tragic narrative. Rather than looking at Africa as a source for developing treatment against this deadly virus, some in Western countries believe it’s better suited as a testing ground for a vaccine, declared two French doctors. We can’t ignore the role of racism and the impact of colonialism in shaping perceptions of Africa, especially during this pandemic.

 The impact of COVID-19 is still an enigma but despite the frenzy, countries in Africa are familiar with grim health conditions. Not too long ago, the continent faced and suffered from the deadly Ebola virus and today still battles polio, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diseases that are easily treated in Western countries afforded greater access to medical technology. Despite the continent’s limited health resources, innovation is in the DNA and heart of Africa.

 Senegal is shifting the narrative that medical innovations can only be derived from Western countries. Aljazeera reported Senegal’s 10-minute coronavirus diagnostic test for $1 and additional reports to celebrate the country’s use of 3D technology to develop ventilators. Truth be told, the development of novel solutions in Africa is not new. However, the idea of innovation across Africa is still an anomaly and goes against the myopic narrative of African countries. The news stories on Senegal’s diagnostic solutions to help flatten the curve were much-needed to dispel negative perceptions of the continent.  

Africa has always been ripe with innovation, defying traditional thinking espoused by the Western nations. In Madagascar, there’s news of an anti-COVID-19 herbal treatment, which is generating much interest and skepticism. CNBC Africa reported on Madagascar’s herbal treatment and the need for a clinical trial to test the efficacy of this herbal liquid. Countries across Africa and the African Union are looking into this herbal treatment with caution.

In short, we can’t underestimate African talent and solutions and must invest in the future of the continent for it to succeed. To drive economic growth across Africa, we must invest in people, products, and partnerships to improve healthcare solutions and increase access to critical resources to address the spread of diseases. We can invest with impact without diluting the continent’s rich culture and heritage and work with entrepreneurs, community stakeholders, and health practitioners to design approaches to address African challenges.

 We must support early and growth-stage businesses now more than ever to develop the next game-changing product to realize a healthy future.