Mark Graham

Nicolas Friederici

Michel Wahome

The hope and hype about African digital entrepreneurship, contrasted with the reality on the ground in local ecosystems. In recent years, Africa has seen a digital entrepreneurship boom, with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into tech cities, entrepreneurship trainings, coworking spaces, innovation prizes, and investment funds. Politicians and technologists have offered Silicon Valley-influenced narratives of boundless opportunity and exponential growth, in which internet-enabled entrepreneurship allows Africa to "leapfrog" developmental stages to take a leading role in the digital revolution. This book contrasts these aspirations with empirical research about what is actually happening on the ground. The authors find that although the digital revolution has empowered local entrepreneurs, it does not untether local economies from the continent's structural legacies.

How a Continent Is Escaping Silicon Valley’s Long Shadow

Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa

Hopes and Potentials -- Taking Stock -- Bounded Opportunities -- Viable Strategies -- Uneven Ecosystems -- Transitioning Identities -- Silicon Tensions -- Ways Forward -- Appendix A: Methodology -- Appendix B: Case Study Notes and Market Data.

Michel Wahome

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