未來的非洲

2023年6月10日

尼日利亞啟動國王尋找獨角獸法新社、巴黎Iyinoluwa Aboyeji可能沒有個人財富Elon Musk或馬克·紮克伯格,但他的成功水平作為一個非洲企業家熊比較與任何矽穀科技巨頭。雖然仍在20年代,尼日利亞創辦了兩個“獨角獸,”一個行業的公司實現估值超過10億美元。大多數統計,非洲產生了隻有7個獨角獸相比,在美國超過700。Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, fintech公司的共同創始人Flutterwave Andela和培訓平台,提出了照片在拉各斯,尼日利亞,周二。照片:本森Ibeabuchi Aboyeji,許多服飾的全球科技的老板——他經常被簡稱為“E”,他想建立一個城市致力於科技——說非洲企業家應該有大的野心。然而,他們不能簡單地複製和粘貼從紮克伯格的劇本或麝香。“我們羨慕這些人,他們的靈感,”他在電話中說從一個投資者會議上美國。“但是當我們尋找一條路徑,我們不指望他們,因為他們得到了一個與我們完全不同的現實。你必須找到自己的方式。“現在32歲Aboyeji花費了自己大量的時間資金創業,在他的獨角獸離開了他的崗位——fintech公司Flutterwave Andela和培訓平台,而紮克伯格作為一個投資者。 “Now I’m the coach. I take a backseat,” he said with a laugh. “I had my time in the spotlight. I played well.” His Future Africa firm, one of the continent’s biggest start-up funds, is preparing to launch a new round of investing. It comes as tech firms across the world have slashed workers, and venture capitalists have tightened their purse strings. The global economic downturn has seriously hampered African tech start-ups. They attracted more than US$2 billion in funding during the first quarter last year, but this year’s figure is less than half that amount, specialist online newsletter The Big Deal said. The gloomy figures do not dim Aboyeji’s confidence. “It feels like the recession really unlocked people’s ability to build all of a sudden,” he said. Future Africa has invested more than US$10 million in dozens of projects, many of them fintech start-ups trying to improve access to loans and banking services. Future Africa helps them launch their ideas and get further funding. However, Aboyeji still has an eye for a grand scheme — he is helming a project to build a city devoted to tech talent. “Think Delaware, but for Lagos,” he said, referencing the tiny US state with low taxes that hosts many international companies. The project, called Itana, aims to house thousands of tech workers and give firms tax breaks and other incentives — with a likely budget of US$500 million. Silicon Valley libertarian ideologue Peter Thiel is among the backers. Like similar attempts to create such “charter cities,” critics have said that Itana would be a tax haven or an opt-out from state control. Aboyeji and his partners have repeatedly denied that, insisting Itana is located within an established free-trade zone and would respect Nigerian law. Aboyeji is the son of a pastor and often talks about his religious convictions, describing himself as a “faith-driven investor.” “I invest in companies that have redemptive qualities. They save people, they improve people’s lives,” he said. “They transform communities just like my faith does.” Aboyeji, who attended University of Waterloo in Canada and praises the US as “the capital of capital,” has a talent for teachable stories and has been a regular on the TED talk circuit for years. He said that the insight that led him to launch his investing career came a decade ago when he saw thousands of young Nigerians gathered in a soccer stadium trying to get permission to emigrate and get jobs. “You’re not dealing with bums, you’re dealing with people who are desperate for opportunity,” he said. He agonized over how investors could help to raise incomes in a country where more than half the population are younger than 18. “It can’t be with agriculture, and it can’t be manufacturing. It is the Internet,” he said, adding that the possibilities were limitless. For example, African entrepreneurs can legitimately think about space travel, especially if their ideas can help communications in the way that Musk’s StarLink mini-satellites have, he said. “Never say never,” he added. “But we’re not going to do space exploration or space tourism. I don’t think we’re there yet. I’ll leave that for my kids to contemplate.” Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.