by Craig Page-Lee (@cpl_ignite) A consistent topic that is appearing more frequently across the multitude of publication and blogs that I trawl through, in the quest for greater knowledge, is that of innovation.
Points of view include how organisations are developing cultures of innovation, how innovation is used to drive shareholder value, how innovation is used to create greater relevance and long-term sustainability for brands, and how innovation is used to entrench deeper consumer relationships.
Annual reports
Two regular annual reports that cover the topic fairly comprehensively, both entitled “The World’s Most Innovative Companies”, are from Fast Company and Forbes. What I liked most about the 2014 Fast Company report, though, is that it covers a number of emerging markets, including Africa, India and South America, and it is around this specific topic that I am focusing my column.
As expected, many articles have been published regarding the definition and measurability of innovation, but the straightforward simplicity and clarity referenced in the FastCompany report again appeals to me: “there’s another kind of faith in business: the belief that a product or service can radically remake an industry, change consumer habits, challenge economic assumptions.”
So, with this in mind, I decided to investigate how product and service innovation is uniting people, connecting brands with consumer, and driving growth and development on the continent. While it may seem obvious to some, it is interesting to see which sectors are key drivers of innovation and that the people of this diverse, expansive and far-reaching continent are benefitting from this revolution.
Technology, agriculture, health, finance and education
When reviewing the various ranking and category lists between countries, what is apparent is the primary focus on the sectors of technology, agriculture, health, finance and education. This trend runs across a number of African countries, as well as India and South America.
Before listing the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies from the regions mentioned, and before soliciting my thoughts on how the findings can have a greater impact on the people of Africa, I though it most appropriate to mention and describe one of the greatest (in my opinion) innovations on the continent in the past decade, namely that of M-Pesa, the mobile-phone based money transfer and micro-financing platform that allows users to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money with a mobile device.
I have expanded upon the technical capabilities of this platform, but suffice to say that the success has seen the platform adopted as far afield as Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, India and South Africa.
Not an original idea
What I did not know is that M-Pesa, launched in Kenya 2007, was actually not the original idea, but that people in Botswana and Ghana were transferring airtime to relatives and friends pre-2004 and this airtime was often resold for cash. After extensive international investment and research into this practice on the African continent, MCel in Mozambique introduced the first authorised airtime credit swapping platform, the precursor to M-Pesa being launched by Vodacom for Safaricom/Vodacom in Kenya and Tanzania.
It is this level of innovation that shapes an entire sector and revolutionises the way people engage with brands and conduct their daily lives on the continent.
With this understanding in place, it is appropriate to review the lists and ascertain what further benefits can be derived and shared between regions and countries alike — as in the case of M-Pesa.
(*Note: the listings content is credited to Fast Company — The World’s Most Innovative Companies Report 2014 — except where I have added my own opinion and commentary.)
Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Africa:
- iHub (Kenya) — for connecting, amplifying, and accelerating Africa’s tech community
- Sanergy (Kenya) — for bringing sustainable sanitation to sub-Saharan Africa
More than 12 000 people living in Kenya’s slums are now receiving daily portable toilets containing toilet paper, sawdust, soap, and water thanks to Sanergy’s sustainability model — local residents purchase and manage the sanitation facilities, allowing them to become micro-entrepreneurs. Every day, the waste is collected and transported to a management center where it’s treated according to the governmental standards and turned into fertilizer for use by East African farmers who can’t afford the otherwise high prices.*
Surely a solution that has relevance to SA — a reduction in unhealthy seepage into our rivers, as well as the creation of fertilizer for the many subsistence and micro-farmers that exist across SA? Maybe an opportunity for one of SA’s larger grocery retailers to participate in and buy-back the produce farmed by these communities?
- One Acre Fund (Kenya) — for fostering a new generation of farmers in Africa.
- Rocket Internet (Berlin — Africa focused) — for betting on US-style commerce in Africa
This venture firm has launched more than 100 companies in Africa since its founding in 2007. Among its efforts: online food delivery with FoodPanda, real estate with Lamundi, hotel booking with Javogo, and Amazon-like shopping with Jumia—which is the most popular online shopping site on the continent. While the company runs much of the business from its Berlin headquarters and many are very similar, its work to bring new opportunities to Africa is vital to the continent’s growth.*
Could the Silicon Cape Initiative be SA’s answer to this kind of thinking, product and service innovation and economic evolution? I genuinely believe so and think that such “concept and project aggregator forums” and seed-funding hubs need to emerge across a few more strategic regions in SA.
(I recommend that readers of my column please visit the Silicon Cape Initiative website to learn more about this amazing initiative.)
- Konga (Nigeria) — for making the online shopping experience more secure.
- Sterio.me (Nigeria) — for taking the infrastructure out of education.
- UpEnergy (Uganda) — for making it safer to cook in rural Africa
Millions of people in rural Uganda are still using inefficient and dangerous means of cooking, like three-stone fires and kerosene. UpEnergy has set out to both protect the environment and people by supporting distribution channels that benefit both large businesses (through carbon credits) and local retailers (through direct sales support and guidance) to make available safer, greener, and more efficient cookstoves, water purification technologies, and solar lights.*
We’ve seen the simple and functional calendar fire blanket initiative — as developed by FCB for Engen in South Africa, but maybe it is time for some of our own companies to start trading their carbon credits (if any actually qualify — I sure as hell know that Eskom does not!) to enable the distribution of such devices and technologies.
Even centralised cooking kitchens could be developed for neighbourhoods — shared resources, shared technology and bringing people of the community together at cooking times. This is surely a real and sustainable way to reduce shack fires in SA.
[Don’t forget about the Wonderbag, invented by South African Sarah Collins during the loadshedding of 2008: a non-electric slow cooker which continues cooking food after the vessel has been removed from an energy source. In the northern hemisphere, as reported by Forbes, a partnership with Unilever has resulted in a buy-one-give-one-model in support of humanitarian relief — ed-at-large.]
- Daptio (South Africa) — for championing the new wave in education: adaptive learning.
With online education becoming more prevalent, the next step for many platforms is to shirk the typical lecture format in favor of an adaptive learning one. The goal has become finding a model that allows students to receive the right content at the right time, ultimately leading to higher understanding and better grades. With Africa seen as the next frontier for online learning‘s expansion — growth of the mobile learning market in Africa over the next five years is 39% and expected to make e-learning a $530 million market by 2017 — Daptio’s presence is making it a reality.*
Could this be the future to education in SA? If not, hopefully it will at least eliminate the existence of tender-trepreneurs that dump books in Limpopo and earn millions from our hard-earned taxes, as well as hopefully eliminate mass-copying syndicates writing matric each year — leading to higher understanding and better grades… as noted above. Could Daptio challenge UNISA as a distance learning alternative — and possibly see a higher pass rate of students as well?
- PrepClass (Nigeria) — for preparing the next generation
Another education-oriented company on the list, PrepClass is an online portal for students preparing for standardized tests in Nigeria such as the JAMB, WAEC, GCE, or NECO. Students pay to take practice tests that prepare them for an online or paper tests and receive personalized feedback to improve for test day. To be as available as possible, PrepClass has partnered with more than 1,000 cybercafes across Nigeria to give students places with the necessary resources to use the platform.*
Another great opportunity for a SA brand to partner with the Department of Education and create a platform for students to experience the same level of review and study opportunities leading up to exams.
Why don’t we see the traditional print and stationery brands such as CAN and Exclusive Books stepping into this space and gaining huge positive association and possible future loyal customers of their brands? What about the mobile operators rolling out cybercafés that connect students to the web and deliver only school subject-matter content?
- Aweza (South Africa) — for connecting a scattered society
Overwhelmingly apparent
In closing, it is obvious to state that I have never heard of the majority of companies named in the lists, but what is overwhelmingly apparent is the desire for the majority of the companies and brands mentioned to reshape the future and make a meaningful difference to mankind — the majority not being hard-wired commercial entities that are developing products and services to exploit the consumer but, more importantly, doing so to benefit humanity first and then to realise commercial reward.
Where are we as a body of marketers, advertisers and media people in developing our suite of ideas and applications that could benefit the people of this continent? [Backed by FCB South Africa, The Giant Flag project springs to mind — ed-at-large.]
Technology and healthcare seems to be the key focus for innovation in India, while technology, natural resources and entrepreneurship seems to be the focus in South America, and technology, healthcare and education seems to be the key focus on the continent of Africa.
Ideas seem to be transferable
What is most apparent is that the challenges seem to be the same across developing nations and the ideas seem to be transferable, which means we can surely learn and borrow from each other to make this a better place for all.
The key question, though, is: “Are enough big brands stepping in to speed up the rate of change and improvement across the continent?”
I hope this will change soon and not be left to the efforts of the likes of Unilever.
Craig Page-Lee (@cpl_ignite) is the group managing director of Posterscope South Africa. He has over 21 years of working experience across the disciplines of architecture and retail design/brand communications and marketing management/advertising and media, across 11 pan-European and six pan-African regions. Craig’s monthly column on MarkLives, “Beyond Borders”, focuses on doing business in various African markets. Don’t forget to tune into his #eBizRetail slot on www.ebizradio.com.
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