CAPTURING LEARNING FROM

TECH INNOVATION HUBS ACROSS

AFRICA

This report summarises discussions with staff from technology innovation

hubs across seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It explores

sustainability, programming, working with the private sector and civil

society, impact and advice for funders.

The Indigo Trust ,

Loren Treisman,

PhD

Contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2

Sustainability ............................................................................................................................ 4

Generating Revenue .............................................................................................................. 4

Engaging the Private Sector ................................................................................................... 5

Demonstrating Value ............................................................................................................. 6

Tackling Social Challenges ......................................................................................................... 7

Focusing on the challenge first ............................................................................................... 7

Hackathons ........................................................................................................................... 7

Engaging Civil Society ............................................................................................................ 8

Impact Measurement................................................................................................................ 9

Community Development and Support .................................................................................... 10

Skills Development .............................................................................................................. 10

Bringing the right skill sets together ..................................................................................... 11

Recognising Progress ........................................................................................................... 11

Advice for Funders .................................................................................................................. 11

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 12

Call Participants and Contributors ............................................................................................ 13

Executive Summary

Technology innovation hubs have been recognised for their potential to spark innovation, stimulate

economic growth and tackle societal challenges in novel ways. However, much of the hype has been

tempered and many hubs are struggling to become financially sustainable, attract a diverse group of

stakeholders and support entrepreneurs to create viable businesses or impactful social projects.

We asked hub staff across Sub-Saharan Africa to provide an overview of how they are addressing

some of these challenges.

On income generation, hubs are starting to bring in money through consultancy, membership fees,

desk or space hire, training, events and grants.

Building relationships with stakeholders like the private sector and civil society can take time but is

worthwhile. Hub staff should listen to their partners. They must identify their specific needs and be

ready to address them. Corporate partners seek a viable business proposition while civil society

groups want to see that community members can help them create impact more efficiently and

effectively. It’s worth engaging partners early on and taking them through the whole project cycle.

Similarly, developers must constantly engage with the end-users of any product being developed

from an early stage.

Supporting and nurturing innovators involves building both hard and soft skills and providing them

with on-going training, support and mentorship. Structured support programmes with clear targets

work best. There is a need to match-make community members to form diverse teams that can

develop viable products.

Funders could best support hubs through core funding and simplified applications, leaving hub

managers free to respond to on-the-ground needs. Hubs would also like more communication with

funders, so that they can better understand their expectations. They want more collaboration with

funders and would appreciate being introduced to relevant organisations within their networks.

They would also like funders to support col laboration between hubs and visit hubs more regularly so

that they have a greater understanding of the realities on the ground.

Introduction

In recent years, technology innovation hubs have sprung up across Africa to support local innovation

(http://www.africahubs.webgathering.net/). They provide aspiring entrepreneurs with access to

state-of-the-art facilities, high-speed internet, events, mentorship and training.

Technology Innovation hubs come in all shapes and sizes. They offer a wide range of services and

follow different business models. The sheer variety of hub models has sometimes confused matters

and makes defining a hub a tricky business. What all hubs have in common, however, is an aim to

foster innovation through collaboration. By building an open and diverse community, they stimulate

learning, skills sharing, problem solving and the sharing of ideas. This collaborative environment

aims to stimulate the creation of solutions to social challenges, as well as the development of viable

businesses and products.

Research by Lidia Gryszkiewicz (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) and Nicolas

Friederici (Oxford Univeristy) has identified some common characteristics of hubs:

They embrace fluidity and diversity through creation of a diverse community which changes

over time

They focus on creating impact in society as opposed to only achieving financial targets. This

can include their impact on their own community and indirectly, society at large. This focus

on impact stimulates creativity and allows them to focus on long-term, ‘big picture’

solutions.

They encourage serendipity through use of an open layout and by bringing the right people

together through informal and formal networking opportunities

They create a community of like-minded people who share a common lifestyle

They intensify collaborative innovation through co-location and co-working principles,

online sharing and use of innovation and design processes

They dynamise the innovation process by hosting frequent events, competitions, and

brainstorms and through regular outreach which helps put innovators in the spotlight and

creates energy and momentum

They enable, rather than force, innovation by ensuring their members are self-determined

and supported to take their own initiative.

In summary, the secret of their success lies in the collaborative environment and close -knit

communities they create which allows serendipity to happen.

Unsurprisingly, these spaces have attracted attention. Many recognised their potential to reduce

unemployment, stimulate economic growth and tackle societal problems in novel ways. Tech

companies and investors flocked to the spaces in the hope of supporting the creation of the next

Facebook or Amazon.

Much of the hype has since been tempered. Few are willing to invest at the risky but crucial early

stages and many seemed surprised when hubs didn’t deliver on their expectations to achieve

financial sustainability in their first few years. Many donors and investors are interested in

supporting the start-ups coming out of hubs, but few are willing to invest in the core costs of hubs or

in building the technology ecosystem required for profitable businesses or social change solutions to

be devised locally.

But could it be that our expectations are unrealistic? After all, 95% of small businesses fail in their

first five years globally (http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/03/infographic-failed-small-

businesses.html), many in more favourable environments.

It’s easy to forget that in most countries in Africa, the technology ecosystem is still in its infancy.

Kenya is ahead of the pack, being hailed the Silicon Savannah. But in countries like Liberia there’s

hardly any formalised ICT training, let alone a thriving community.

For these ecosystems to flourish there’s a need to build both hard tech skills and softer business

skills. Regulatory frameworks are often inhibitive and silos must be broken down so that developers,

designers, sector experts and business experts can come together to solve real societal problems in

sectors like health, education and agriculture.

High data costs, language and literacy barriers and a lack of simple payment mechanisms provide

barriers to market penetration. Unreliable and costly electricity and transport, slow internet and

cumbersome bureaucracy all increase the cost of doing business. It’s hard to keep budding

entrepreneurs on board with no immediate income and there’s a lack of awareness about

technology’s far-reaching benefits. Civil society groups and consumers often need to be supported

to utilise them effectively.

We could be fooled into thinking the situation is hopeless. But the ICT sector shows dizzying

potential in Africa. Investment in it sparks economic growth. In Nigeria, it already contributes almost

10% of GDP (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2860252/tech-telecom-contribute-10-percent-of-

nigerias-gdp-ict-minister-says.html).

In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than two thirds of people have mobile phones and it’s a rapidly growing

market (http://www.gallup.com/poll/168797/africa-continues-going-mobile.aspx). This provides an

opportunity for people to access, share and create information at a lower cost, faster speed and

greater scale than ever before.

Perhaps we need to take a more patient approach?

At Indigo Trust, we spoke to some of the managers, board members and staff of hubs across Sub-

Saharan Africa to understand how they address sustainability, tackle social challenges and engage

with stakeholders. We also discussed their key challenges, shared proposed solutions and asked for

advice to funders.

Sustainability

Generating Revenue

Hub sustainability remains a challenge and all hubs still rely on donor funding to some extent. We

explored some of the ways in which hubs are generating their own revenue.

Some hubs hire their spaces out for events hosted by the private sector, donors and civil

society. Board rooms and desks spaces can also be made available. Advertising such services

on social media can attract business.

Most hubs have tiered membership structures where members are charged to access some

services e.g. representing the hub as a consultant, permanent desk space, some training

packages etc. There are higher charges for corporate sponsors. Price structures should be

flexible to ensure inclusivity.

Hubs charge for some events and training. They also run events on behalf of others. For

example, Bongo Hive in Lusaka, Zambia charges organisations to run hackathons and

bootcamps for them. They also run social media campaigns for organisations.

Some hubs provide consultancy services. They often pay members to deliver the work and

take a percentage. In some hubs community members are offered training in areas like

project management and communication to help them fulfil this role. Services offered

include web design, app creation and the building of internal technology platforms. Co-

Creation Hub is undertaking innovation cluster mapping for Lagos State Department. In

Kampala, Uganda, Hive Colab writes proposals to companies about how technology could

improve their businesses and works with the community to deliver on these.

Some hubs like Bongo Hive are applying for large multi -year grants. They put together a

team from their members and manage implementation and donor relations. It is necessary

for a hub to develop a clear strategic vision and goals before taking on processes like these.

Think of creative programming which engages a wider community while gene rating income. Jozihub in Johannesburg, South Africa has partnered with the biggest youth radio station in the country to run programmes around what they are doing to support young people and inspire them to start their own businesses. The partnership includes a sponsorship component which generates income while stimulating public discussions relevant to their community.

Engaging the Private Sector

Innovation spaces often struggle to attract funding and support from larger donors and corporations, but this is crucial to support their operations, especially at the early stages. It can also be hard to gain local ownership. It can be challenging to identify local partners and to engage with government as well as to generate sufficient income locally. If corporations do engage, they are rarely willing to support core costs, instead focusing on specific programmes. Many hubs have found it helpful to establish partnerships with the private sector-to host events and training in their spaces or to support programmes targeting specific issues or groups, such as digital jobs or women entrepreneurs. Call participants shared tips on how they work with the private sector:

Building relationships takes time but it’s worthwhile. Kwesi Eyison from iSpace in Accra,

Ghana spent two years showcasing what they do and demonstrating how they add value to

local tech companies and international companies. It’s been worthwhile, as companies are

now contacting them to suggest collaborations. They’ve managed to secure free internet,

contributions to events and funding for start-ups in this way.

It's worth having a staff member who dedicates their time to building stakeholder

relationships. It can take time to build relationships and as hubs are a relatively new

concept. Staff need to think creatively about how to demonstrate their benefit to other

organisations and society at large.

It can be helpful to approach the private sector with a business proposition. Internet service providers may provide free services if approached from a marketing perspective. Co-Creation Hub found mobile operators more amenable when they discussed the development of locally relevant content and JoziHub engaged them by demonstrating how products developed at the hub would help mobile operators to increase their market share.

The private sector can provide additional income and support through hosting events in hubs, gaining opportunities to engage with entrepreneurs or through running training courses. Working with them requires time and resources so ensure that the services they are providing align with your objectives and serve the community or you may be detracted from your key objectives.

Companies are often willing to offer gifts in kind and can also offer access to trainers and mentors. Hive Colab has persuaded the corporate social responsibility departments of some companies to provide support and workshops to their community for 4 hours each month.

Be sure you know what a company is interested in before you approach them. Some are interested in supporting tech communities through training on use of their tools or platforms, to provide leadership development or by hosting events in a hub. Others are interested in offering specific programming while some want access to your start-up community.

Companies like to connect with a new idea which is relevant to their business. Try and match businesses to relevant projects or start-ups. JoziHub had success when they introduced the SA Automobile Association to teams developing motoring applications at the early stage of development. Engaging partners early in the process can help give them a sense of ownership.

Speak corporate language. Demonstrate a business model and clear objectives and offer training for their staff. As well as offering them applications, think about closed platforms you could offer for a company’s internal use. For example, an entrepreneur at JoziHub developed a parking facilitation application for companies which operate boom systems. Once they see your value, it can be easier to introduce them to other services offered by the hub.

Showcase your start-ups. Lukonga from Bongo Hive found that the private sector engaged more when they began speaking about their start-up programme. They were often interested in specific projects.

Demonstrating Value

Locally, many still don’t understand the hub concept and are reluctant to engage. It’s worth investing energy in building public awareness and demonstrating value to various target groups. This will require outreach activities and one to one relationship building. The hubs shared some of their most successful interventions which included:

Conducting outreach at Universities, Schools and in local communities

Hosting events which attract a diverse group of stakeholders including private sector companies like mobile network providers and internet service providers, tech outfits, civil society staff, schoolchildren and government staff

Holding monthly meetings with stakeholders

Many hubs find one-to-one meetings are crucial to enable partners to really understand their work and to stimulate real collaboration with the private sector, NGOs and other partners

Tackling Social Challenges

It is recognised that a more diverse group of players needs to be attracted to tech hubs if they are to address social challenges in sectors like health, education, agriculture, transparency and accountability. There’s also also often too much focus on the technology rather than the solution to a challenge, particularly in the mobile space, where there is a lot of hype. Technologists must communicate with government officials, activists, civil society organisations, corporations and other stakeholders and really understand some of the challenges which they needing to address. We wanted to get a sense of how some of the hubs were supporting their community to tackle social challenges.

Focusing on the challenge first

In order to tackle social challenges, most hubs bring experts together to identify challenges in a

specific sector. They recognise that technology first solutions are less successful.

Bongo Hive is trying to encourage entrepreneurs to focus on a specific challenge. They then help them develop a viable business solution. It is only at that point that they explore technology’s role in that solution. They are even considering removing the word ‘technology’ from their name to attract a more diverse community.

Hackathons

Many hubs run hackathons such as iSpace’s ‘Hackforgood’. These bring stakeholders together to address a particular issue. As an example, a health hackathon would bring together health workers, entrepreneurs, NGOs working in health, techies and, where possible, government stakeholders. Together the teams discuss challenges in the sector and devise innovative solutions. The best teams are supported with prize money and sometimes mentorship to bring their ideas to fruition. Hackathons have been widely criticised as teams often fail to turn their ideas into viable products and interventions. Many cite that the winning ideas from hackathons often struggle to access funding to continue developing their ideas following the initial prize money. It can also be a challenge to keep teams working together, particularly when there’s a lack of resources .

Often a well thought out follow-up programme is needed for these interventions to be successful. Bongo Hive has introduced hackathons where prize money is given in instalments, with the final instalment paid upon project completion. This encourages teams to continue their work after the initial event. Co-Creation Hub’s Tech Challenges, meanwhile, are followed up with mentorship and a strong pre-incubation programme. Funding is released as and when the team delivers against its milestones. Women are also under represented and need to be encouraged to participate.

Engaging Civil Society

Many innovation spaces have struggled to really engage with civil society. It is a process that takes

time and ongoing commitment. Barriers include:

Civil society often doesn’t understand social innovation and works in more traditional ways

Civil society can struggle to understand how technology can help to address societal

challenges

Civil society organisations are often understaffed and under resourced

Technologists and social change activists often speak very different ‘languages’ and think

about solving problems in very different ways

Technologists often suggest technical solutions to civil society rather than understanding

their challenges and needs

Many aspiring entrepreneurs still need an income. There can be inadequate funding to

support social ventures and many technologists are more interested in building products

more likely to generate revenue.

Hubs have suggested some of the following solutions:

Engage civil society through hosting events that are directly related to the issues that they

tackle. Outreach and promotion will be needed as many of these groups are unaware of the

work taking place in hubs. Present at events which are socially focused and attract a wider

audience than just techies and engage in social media around these.

Nothing substitutes building strong relationships with individual organisations. Hub

managers can help to build these relationships through face-to-face meetings with senior

civil society staff. This process does take time and on-going engagement. Hubs can then

introduce them to technologists who can help them devise solutions to the challenges they

face. Initially, hubs may wish to have a role in managing these projects and relationships.

Civil society groups need to be engaged right from the beginning of a process. They need to

be able to fully articulate the challenges they are facing and work with technologists to

develop solutions. They need to see that technology can help them undertake their work

more efficiently and effectively.

Technologists need to work with civil society to engage directly with end users e.g. farmers,

school children etc. They need to work with them at all stages of the project cycle and

constantly adapt their products according to their requirements.

ActivSpaces in Cameroon believes in building sustainable businesses that tackle social

challenges rather than charitable projects. If social organisations have a viable business

model, the projects can be sustained and the teams working on them can continue

operations when funding runs out.

Funders need to be more willing to provide small grants to high-risk solutions so that

entrepreneurs are able to experiment with ideas in the social space. There is also a need to

identify funders willing to give medium-sized grants (£20,000-£250,000) to projects which

begin to show promise. It is also necessary to access funding for scaling.

Teams working on social projects need to be supported with a wider skill set. They often need support with business skills, legal advice, marketing and working with civil society , as well as technical support. Jozihub’s Citizen Lab is an example of a programme providing these skill sets to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Sometimes a social component can be built into commercial businesses. Jozihub is working with commercial start-ups to help them build social elements in to their work. The private sector can also be engaged in this process.

Develop platforms which social organisations can adapt to their needs. An example of this is Jozihub’s creation of Vumi which can be adapted to fulfil an organisation’s different technology needs across multiple platforms.

Engage in wider initiatives which encourage social innovation. Bongo Hive has partnered with the US Embassy and UNICEF to run a Social Entrepreneurship Boot Camp. The partners helped to promote these events through their large networks, which enabled Bongo Hive to get new people on board.

As a condition of membership, iSpace requires its members to spend 20% of their time working on social projects. This can be developing products which tackle a social issue or helping in some of their social interventions such as after school programmes.

Impact Measurement

Measuring impact can be a real challenge for innovation hubs, as a lot of the work they do including

community building, training and mentorship and building key partnerships can be difficult to

measure.

Impact needs to be thought about in different ways and also needs to be developed in alignment

with the community’s stage of development. In places like Namibia and Liberia, where the

technology sector is still in its infancy, emphasis should be placed on skills development, community

building and establishing beneficial partnerships, while in cities like Lagos and Nairobi, hubs are

already evaluating the projects and businesses they support and the impact they are having. Please

refer to the following article for further insight into this issue:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/loren-treisman/tech-innovation-in-africa_b_8071288.html

Hubs measure a whole range of things. They measure simple outputs like the number of events or

training sessions held, the number of members they have, the number of people attending their

space and a list of the start-ups/projects they’re supporting. They also gain feedback from

participants of training and events, as well as monitoring their income generation and the

partnerships they’re establishing.

Some hubs also measure inclusion. For example, iSpace is monitoring the proportion of women

running and attending events and aims for 60%. JoziHub monitors the establishment of local

partnerships.

Some hubs are building specific KPIs for start-ups. Bongo Hive and JoziHub develop quarterly

benchmarks for each start-up they support. It can be hard to define these with donors in advance, as

each business has unique indicators.

Community Development and Support

The hub staff identified several challenges around supporting their community and shared

interventions they’re exploring to address them.

Skills Development

Developers sometimes lack sufficient skills to build viable products. There is a shortage of softer

business skills too. It is often difficult to find business development services and business mentors

outside of the hub community.

Hubs should provide both soft and hard training skills to their community. This includes software development training, support with business models, legal advice, copyright, communications and marketing. Jozihub in Johannesburg, South Africa run a Code School which provides services like this. iSpace in Accra, Ghana provides software developme nt training at different levels.

Mentorship programmes can also have significant impact. Several hubs including Co-

Creation Hub in Nigeria, Bongo Hive in Zambia and ActivSpaces in Cameroon employ

permanent mentors to support aspiring entrepreneurs. Many hubs, including Uganda’s Hive

Colab have secured in-kind mentorship through the private sector and individuals.

The private sector may outsource staff who can offer business development services for free or at low cost. Hive Colab struggled to gain support from the private sector initially, but they are now receiving pro bono services from some of their corporate partners.

Bringing the right skill sets together

Often entrepreneurs have great ideas but lack the teams and technical skills to create viable

products. It can also be hard to source developers and also to match developers of a sufficient

standard with volunteers.

Matchmaking events between entrepreneurs, developers, civil society, designers and other

potential team members can help establish teams to deliver on a particular product.

Interventions are needed which bring different stakeholders together around a focused

issue. Hackathons can be helpful but need to be followed by mentorship, funding and

ongoing support for promising teams to stay together and develop viable projects.

The environment of these spaces can also facilitate collaboration. JoziH found that they increased collaboration by encouraging their resident start-ups to chat and connect. They also hold frequent events around specific issues which attract a diverse set of stakeholders. This encourages cross pollination between the start-ups. Their Code School supported this process through matching skill sets between different start-ups.

Recognising Progress

In many societies, entrepreneurship isn’t widely understood or viewed as a viable career option. Entrepreneurs cite a need to be recognised as their ideas progress. Hubs recommended the following:

Having structured programmes, which provide certification or other methods of recognising entrepreneurs’ achievements can be helpful. This can also be an attractive proposition to the private sector companies.

To keep entrepreneurs focused it can help to support them to generate income through consultancy and other projects early on so that they can support themselves financially.

Success stories must be showcased widely so that entrepreneurs have examples to follow and so that society recognises the potential of entrepreneurship.

Advice for Funders

We asked the hub managers how funders could best support them and this is what they had to say:

Funders could make applications simpler and less time consuming

Core funding and less restrictive funding can help allow hubs to best adapt to needs on the ground

Funders should be willing to fund ecosystem and community building rather than focusing only on start-up creation

Funders should visit hubs more regularly (and not just in countries with the biggest te ch communities) to see how hubs operate on a day-to-day basis and so they can better understand the challenges they are facing.

Hubs would like more communication and collaboration with funders. They’d like to have more guidance at the start of a grant and more follow-up.

Funders can help connect hubs to other hubs as well as civil society organisations and other stakeholders who they can work with

Hubs would like greater clarity on what funders hope to achieve

There is often a disconnect between the expectations of funders and the reality on the ground. It is important that funders understand what a hub is trying to achieve and that indicators can be developed together to ensure that they are realistic and aligned with a hub’s core objectives

Funding for external consultants can be helpful

Funders can help coordinate or support calls and workshops with other hubs. Sharing lessons, challenges and solutions is extremely helpful.

Conclusion

Hubs have the potential to support their communities use technology to tackle society’s challenges

in novel ways. To achieve this aim will take time. Hubs first need to establish themselves as

financially sustainable organisations and build strong communities which are diverse, skilled and

collaborative. They must also establish working relationships with corporates and civil society to

achieve these aims. Patient, flexible funding can support this process.

Specific programmes and support packages can increase the likelihood of community members

building viable businesses or devising solutions to social issues. A one size fits all model is unlikely to

emerge from this diverse group of players, but hubs are gradually identifying programmes and

interventions which best support their community. It is our hope that some of these can be adapted

and piloted by the community at large.

Call Participants and Contributors Barbara Birungi Hive Colab Kampala, Uganda Tunji Eleso Co-Creation Hub Lagos, Nigeria Josiah Kwesi Eyison iSpace Accra, Ghana Asnath Kambunga RLabs Namibia Windhoek, Namibia Lukonga Lindunda Bongo Hive Lusaka, Zambia Samantha Manclark Jozi Hub Johannesburg, South Africa Mike Murray Bongo Hive Lusaka, Zambia Loren Treisman Indigo Trust London, UK Ryan Yoder ActivSpaces Buea and Douala, Cameroon