Strategic partnerships are the new secret to scaling on African innovation

AS JAPANESE investment in Africa quietly doubles from 520 companies in 2010 to 972 by 2022, profound questions emerge about which African innovations successfully transcend borders and why others, equally promising, remain stubbornly local.

- ANDILE MASUKU

The answers point not to technological superiority or funding rounds, but to something far more fundamental.

Meet Alesimo Mwanga

From private sector to ecosystem builder and researcher, Johannesburg-based Tanzanian-Nigerian Alesimo Mwanga's trajectory through Africa's development landscape reflects a deep commitment to bridging innovation with tangible economic impact.

During our deep, in-trench collaboration on ecosystem engagement strategy and execution at 54 Collective, I witnessed firsthand her singular ability to distil complex innovation dynamics into actionable insight and delivery. Fittingly, this column arrives on PAWA Africa's fifth anniversary - a milestone worth celebrating.

Those familiar with her previous work at organisations like 22 ON SLOANE and her current role as chair of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's Advisory Board will appreciate that in this Tech Tides Africa column hijack, she brings years of pattern recognition to bear on why certain African innovations find fertile ground abroad while others struggle to transcend geographical constraints.

Mwanga's insights. In her words:

Why do some African innovations successfully cross borders while others equally promising remain local? The answer lies not in technological superiority or funding size, but in something far more fundamental - strategic partnerships.

In my recent research with the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Johannesburg, a striking pattern emerged: companies like VitruvianMD (expanding AI fertility diagnostics to the Middle East) and FloatPays (following TymeBank into the Philippines) share a common success factor. Meanwhile, innovative solutions like StokFella (digitalising South Africa's R50 billion stokvel economy) remain geographically constrained despite solving critical local problems.