Verone Mankou, the inventor of Africa's first handheld tablet to rival the iPad, shows his invention, the Way-C.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Most African start-ups provide services rather than hardware to minimize costs
- Companies building hardware seem to struggle for investors
- Maker Faire Africa project recognizes the need for Africa to take charge of its hardware future
Editor's note: Michelle Atagana is the managing editor of memeburn a social media and technology news site. She has a Masters Degree in
New Media and Journalism, her thesis focuses on social media
technologies in the South African journalistic space with some focus on
the public sphere.
(CNN) -- In my line of work I get to meet a lot of
talented developers, entrepreneurs and people who are just plain
passionate about technology and Africa.
These people tell me
their story, pitch me their start-ups and sometimes show me how they
intend to change the world. I like it; it makes me feel like I am part
of something amazing.
Recently I was given the
opportunity to mentor a few start-ups, and as interesting and as
innovative as their ideas are, I am yet to meet a start-up in Africa
that wants to build hardware that they hope will change the world.
Michelle Atagana
The general consensus
with most of the start-ups that I have met is that they want to provide a
service with the lowest barrier to entry so as to minimize costs. That
makes sense.
Companies that are daring
to build hardware are outsourcing to China, sure it's cheaper to make
things there but surely this hurts the continent's economic growth in
the end, but I digress.
There are African
start-ups/companies that are building hardware but they seem to be
getting the market's attention as easily as the established devices,
which are understandable, I suppose.
Why are tablets built by
African start-ups (which there are) not getting enough traction in the
market? Is it because they just don't stand up to the competition?
Nigerian company launches new tablet
There are quite a few
cool projects that tackle hardware that get an initial burst when they
launch, but their products don't seem to stay in the minds of everyday
people for long, you know the consumers.
Enter the Inye tablet,
built by Nigerian hardware pioneer Saheed Adepoju, the man that founded
Encipher Limited, which launched Nigeria's first Android-based tablet
device. So there are gadget makers in Africa.
Adepoju's tablet costs
between $250 and $300 but according to his site he is out of stock,
which could be a sign of great success or lack of funds.
An African future inspired by tech?
It's more the latter as
Adepoju is looking for investors and, according to an interview with
VC4Africa, he feels that African investors don't want to invest.
South Africa's technology tour guide
"Talking about venture
capitalists in Africa, I am yet to see one that will invest... when I
mean invest, I don't mean give seed funding of $50 000. I mean actually
give $2 million to a business that is already gaining traction. So I
believe they are very risk averse in investing in a market where they
are not sure of a return on investment," said Adepoju.
So is Africa facing an investor problem rather than a product problem?
See also: Africa grows, but youth get left behind
Building physical products tends to be more expensive
Michelle Atagana
Michelle Atagana
It seems the consensus
around this is that building physical products tends to be more
expensive, and there is the problem of trying to compete with China. In
the world of cheap and affordable tablets it seems the East is winning.
All it takes is Apple or Samsung to announce a new product for a cheaper version of it to show up in the streets of China.
Then there is the Way-C, a tablet designed by young entrepreneur Verone Mankou in the Republic of the Congo.
The device, though
designed in the Congo, was assembled in China like all major
manufactures seem to do. Interestingly this Android-based device is
targeted at West African countries and some countries in Europe. It also
seems to have the support of MTN in Congo.
See also: Bringing the Dreamliner to Africa
Perhaps this is the
solution: partnering with mobile operators to launch affordable smart
devices make in Africa aimed at the African market.
Erik Hersman, a technology blogger, argues that the environment in Africa has "bred a generation of problem-solvers".
"Concurrently, we're a
net importer of fabricated products from around the world. We might make
some of our own software now, but we do little to nothing with
hardware. How can we be the masters of our own future if we don't do any
meaningful levels of fabrication?" he adds.
There are some really
fascinating projects that look at fabrication and building hardware,
such as the Maker Faire Africa project. A project that recognizes the
need for Africa to take charge of its hardware future and encourages
tinkering. The fair is organized around African innovation and gets
people together to build gadgets in a tech DIY environment.
So who else is building gadgets in Africa and why don't we know about them?
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