African technology: Built for hard conditions, sold to the world

Frank Sinatra's recording of New York, New York, released in 1980, popularised a promise: if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. As a theory of business, it may be backwards.

New York offers deep capital, world-class infrastructure and direct access to the world's largest consumer market. Building a business in Lagos can mean unreliable power,³ a volatile currency,⁴ scarce growth capital, fragmented markets and limited data. A company that succeeds under those conditions has often developed capabilities that travel well. If you can make it there, you really can make it anywhere.

This is the overlooked story of African technology. The familiar narrative is that African companies solve African problems for African customers. It is true, but incomplete. A group of African companies is winning customers abroad against incumbents, not because buyers want an African supplier, but because products shaped by difficult conditions can outperform those built in more forgiving markets. That advantage arrives by several routes. Three recur.

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