And at the end of the day, the internet is all about software.
-Marc Andreeseen
Research has shown that every company will revolve around software in future. An average person may relate to a smartphone as a proof of technology
or a simple device that combines software and hardware together an interesting
way. But it is beyond that.
All emerging countries have at least one
resource that is a delight of developed countries. Each of them has something
that is more important than the basic factors of production namely, land,
labour, capital and entrepreneur.
As a matter of fact, when I consider
the relationship between emerging countries and developed ones, landmass (or
land) and population (which accounts for labour size) do not appear as
classifying factors. Otherwise, Britain would be ranked among the least
developed countries of the world. Regarding the third factor, capital, a Forrester Research report has argued that corporate software assets will be more valuable to a business than its financials. In order words, software will be the enabler of financial gains and brand growth. And concerning the fourth factor, someone who takes the risk of starting and running a new enterprise is referred to as an entrepreneur and such a person must understand that technological advancement in form of software
development has now reinvented the factors of production.
Be it a custom software that needs to
be developed from scratch or an off-the-shelf application that requires some
tweaking, the primary issue is the ability of the software to meet a required need.
Yet, all it takes for an individual to learn the skills includes interest,
passion and dedication, provided that power supply, internet access and a
computer are available.
Before the era of mechanization and
industrialization, agriculture was the economic backbone of powerful countries.
Subsequently, there was a move into the industrial revolution and machines and
engines became the sustaining components of economies that made countries stand
out. Today, what makes a country outstanding is the intangible value that its
citizens can add to it and the world at large.
Countries like Israel, Brazil, China
and India have emerged with techie startups or small businesses whose
activities rely on and promote information technology. Based on the novelty of their
creative services, many of these startups are being acquired by huge
corporations around the globe such as Google,
Facebook,
IBM
and Microsoft.
But I wonder when African startups will join this league of corporation-acquired
startups. For instance, less than 12 months ago, Google acquired 11 startups
and none of them was an African tech startup.
Please do not get me wrong, as I am
not implying that Africa lacks creative startups. We certainly have great startups.
In fact, I have worked and gained priceless experience in more than one startup
already. However, I believe that the solution to poor recognition of African
startups internationally does not lie with the startups themselves. It lies
with the next generation, and precisely, those who are presently in primary and
secondary schools.
I think it would be awesome if
software and computer security programs were introduced into some primary and
secondary school syllabuses and taught to kids who show early techie interests.
The axiom that it is easy for a child
to assimilate words, pictures and images faster than an adult readily comes to
mind here. If in doubt, you could simply make an easy enquiry through a Google
search and confirm these ideas.
Nevertheless, if a solution cannot be
implemented to address this issue and influence the explosion of tech
startups in Nigeria and Africa, then it may be safe to conclude that the disruptive
innovation and techie gap between developed countries and most African
countries will continue to widen.
Yimika Ilori is a techie who takes pleasure in his spare time by
writing articles and short stories. His articles have been published on Nuggets
for Nobles and CFA Leverage amongst several other e-platforms. He blogs at www.larntan.com and can be reached through
the same.
Other
articles written by Yimika include:
How does “His Excellency” come into play in Nigerian Politics?
Village Mentality: The Chief of Africa’s Problems
