Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa (eBook)

Nasiru D. Taura is a Lecturer of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Faculty of Management at Bournemouth University, UK. Prior to joining Bournemouth University, he was an Associate Lecturer at Southampton Solent University, UK, where he taught finance and aspects of entrepreneurial finance. Nasiru is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). Elvira Bolat is a Senior Lecturer of Marketing in the Faculty of Management at Bournemouth University, UK. After leading Bournemouth University’s first inter-faculty degree, the BSc (Hons) in Marketing, Elvira is now Global Engagement Leader within the Department of Marketing and is responsible for driving the department and university’s global agenda. Nnamdi O. Madichie is currently Director of the Centre for Research and Enterprise at the London School of Business and Management, UK. Previously he has taught marketing programmes and held various academic positions at the University of East London, UK, the University of Sharjah, UAE, and the Canadian University Dubai, UAE. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the HEA.

Foreword 7
Ashok Ranchhod Obituary 10
Contents 12
Notes on Contributors 15
List of Figures 19
List of Tables 21
Part I: Introduction 22
1: Introduction to African Digital Entrepreneurship 23
References 26
2: Innovation Hubs in Africa: What Do They Really Do for Digital Entrepreneurs? 28
2.1 From Internet Access to Impact: The Promise of Digital Entrepreneurship 28
2.2 Africa’s Digital Entrepreneurship Boom and the Rise of Innovation Hubs 31
2.3 Hubs Depend on Entrepreneurs but Participation Is Socially Complex 34
2.4 Do Hubs Make a Difference for Entrepreneurs? 38
2.5 Hub Practice Needs a Dyadic View, Away from Linear Thinking 40
2.6 Conclusion 43
References 43
Part II: Fin-tech: Trust, Legitimacy, and Digital Infrastructure—The Promise, Prospects, and Challenges 48
3: Renegotiating Legitimacy in the Digital Age: Insights from Nigeria 49
3.1 Introduction 49
3.2 “How to Start and Scale-up Digital Enterprises in Africa”: The Challenges of Establishing Legitimacy—Interview with Olalekan Olude 51
Background of Olalekan Olude 51
Interview Extract 52
3.3 The Incumbents’ Advantage and Strategies for Establishing Legitimacy 59
3.4 Digital Banking in Nigeria: Infrastructure, Trust, and Awareness Challenges 60
3.5 The Origins of Nigerian Banking and the Challenges of Legitimacy 62
3.6 Method of Data Collection and Analysis 63
3.7 Findings and Discussion of Results 65
Barriers to Digital Banking in Nigeria: Willingness versus Relational Trust 65
Investment in Digital Infrastructure (Slow but Steady) 67
Digital Infrastructure: How Open Is Good Enough for Healthy Cooperation between Incumbents versus New Entrants? 68
Digital Banking: The Preferred Approaches for Nigerian Incumbent Banks 70
Wema Bank Plc Nigeria: The Legitimacy Journey and Digital Footprints 72
Illustrative Examples of Good Practices: What Can We Learn from Wema Bank’s Digital Banking Strategy, the ALAT? 74
How Wema Bank Actively Uses the Digital Space and Social Media to Establish Legitimacy in a Digital Age 75
3.8 Conclusion: Establishing Digital Legitimacy Is an Active Not a Passive Process 76
References 78
Part III: Media-tech: The Creative Destruction and Reconstruction of African Digital Media 82
4: The African New Media Digital Revolution: Some Selected Cases from Nigeria 83
4.1 Introduction 83
4.2 Historical Timeline of Media Evolution in Sub-Saharan Africa 85
4.3 Nigeria’s Digital Media Landscape 88
4.4 Micro and Technological Entrepreneurship in Nigeria 90
4.5 Method of Data Collection and Analysis 92
4.6 Findings and Discussion 94
Media Use: Profile and Perceptions 94
“Mobile First” Mindset 96
Technological Entrepreneurship as an Enabler of Innovation 97
4.7 Reflections on Prospects 99
References 100
5: The Impact of New Media (Digital) and Globalisation on Nollywood 104
5.1 Introduction 104
5.2 Digital Production 107
5.3 Digital Distribution 110
5.4 Digital Marketing 114
5.5 Methodology 117
5.6 Discussion of Findings 118
Description of Movie Making in Nigeria Since 2008 118
Impact of Digital Technology on Nollywood 121
Nollywood Challenges (Production, Distribution, and Marketing) 122
Suggestions on the Way Forward 124
Other Challenges 127
5.7 Conclusions 132
References 132
Part IV: Animation and Games: Unlimited Opportunities for Exploration 137
6: Shifting Cultural Capital: Kenyan Arts in Digital Spaces 138
6.1 Shifting Cultural Capital: Kenyan Arts in Digital Spaces 138
6.2 Technological Geographies 139
6.3 But Is It ‘Authentic’? 142
6.4 Curating the Virtual 148
6.5 Digital Visibility and Invisibility 151
6.6 Flowing from the Immaterial to the Physical 152
References 153
Part V: Inclusive-tech: Gender Inequality, Poverty, and Digital Ecosystems 157
7: Technopreneurship: A Discursive Analysis of the Impact of Technology on the Success of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa 158
7.1 Introduction 158
7.2 Women’s Entrepreneurship in South Africa 159
7.3 ICT Infrastructure for Businesses in South Africa 161
7.4 The Digital Gender Divide 164
7.5 The Gender Gap in Business Activities 166
7.6 Women Entrepreneurs in the Digital Era: The myth of high returns 170
7.7 The Future of Women’s Entrepreneurship: The Impact of Automation 173
7.8 Bridging the Digital Divide 176
7.9 Conclusion and Recommendations 179
References 180
8: The Nature of Corporate Digital Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Ghana 185
8.1 Introduction 185
8.2 Literature Review 188
Agriculture in Ghana 188
Agricultural Entrepreneurship 190
Agricultural Technology 192
8.3 Methodology 195
8.4 Findings and Discussions 196
Profile of Corporate Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Ghana 196
Objective One: Improvement of Agricultural Activities Through Technology 197
Objective Two: Nurturing Entrepreneurship Through Technology 199
Objective Three: Challenges Faced by Digital Corporate Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Ghana 200
8.5 Conclusion and Future Studies 201
References 202
9: Agri-tech Opportunities at the Bottom of the Pyramid: How Big Is the Opportunity and How Little Has Been Exploited? Some Selected Cases in Nigeria 209
9.1 Introduction 209
9.2 The Rice Production Policy 211
9.3 Rice Processing in Nigeria 212
9.4 Case Studies: Prime Wave Limited and Al-Wabel Star Trading Company Limited 214
Prime Wave Limited 215
Al-Wabel Trading Company Limited 215
9.5 Analysis and Findings 219
9.6 Conclusions 224
Implications for Policymaking 225
Implications for Rice Paddy Farmers 225
Implications for Digital Entrepreneurs 226
Implications for Research in Digital Entrepreneurship 227
9.7 Recommendations 227
References 229
10: What Next for Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa? 231
10.1 Motivation 231
10.2 African Entrepreneurship 234
10.3 Entrepreneurship Ecosystems 239
10.4 Animation and Games 241
10.5 Inclusive Technology 242
Further Reading 243
References 246
Index 251