Hey, Africa! Build Infrastructure!

Kenya

3 min read

This can be reinforced by strategic planning and patience, which are the critical ingredients of defensible infrastructure. Even in the current world of blitzscaling, building infrastructure with a competitive edge has these two implicitly embedded.

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 26, 2023/-- Earlier this year, I had a deep conversation with a good friend of mine about what underlying services can do to a civilization. Furthermore, what the compounded knowledge of studying, building, and servicing them would do to distinguish itself from another.

Though our long discussion touched on other matters including the current state of EUV lithography, the demise of cryptocurrency, geopolitics and moral philosophy. The issue of infrastructure as a progressive path for a civilization stuck with me.

As insignificant beings on an insignificant rock in an insignificant galaxy; we Africans need to build our own infrastructure to propel our community. I’m using this unassuming tone compared to the evangelized hubris of “Proudly African” (“Proudly Kenyan” from where I come from). Africans we have to build Humbly; “Humbly African”. I will spell out this in further writing.

For convenience, I will single out Meta the parent company of Facebook, a good bestowal of solid Infrastructure. Most products we are busy coming up with or those that currently exist (Advertisement driven ones in particular) to the behemoth that's Meta, are basically features. Mark Zuckerberg who at times I juxtapose to the alter ego of Peter Thiel in congruous with that of John D. Rockefeller, clearly understands infrastructure as an unyielding moat.

What has Zuckerberg done right? From the initial development of proprietary infrastructural technologies at Facebook (Bell Telephone Company level), and later proper acquisitions, quick pivots and supporting open-source solutions (All integrated into the Zuck Pipeline). You can see a pattern.

• Some of the Acquisitions

Instagram, WhatsApp, Occulus

• Some of the Copycat Features (Some would say rip-offs)

Snapchat --- Stories (Available on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp)

TikTok --- Reels (Available on Facebook and Instagram) and don't forget the annoying algorithmically recommended videos

Twitter --- Threads (The Recent App)

With this war chest, Zuck can poke any industry (Bezo’s style) and pick fights with the likes of Apple and X Corp. In the recent encounter with Apple on Spatial Computing, my chips are on him but with that exhibition boxing match with Elon Musk, I'm on X Corp (Plus more on Twitter fending of Threads).

In the Architectural, Engineering and Construction Industry, a sector I have a background in; the point of departure in sound infrastructure can be lightly equated with proper pre-planning and tangibly good groundwork. And by groundwork I literally mean the site work, base, grade or foundation, which is a gravitational necessity that all construction great and small sits upon.

So, what I’m asking my fellow Africans to do is start building ecosystems (digital in this case) and platforms. And as for good platforms, I would wish to quote the Harvard Business Review definition which has a description of Apple and Google platforms. Platform businesses bring together producers and consumers in high-value exchanges. Their chief assets are information and interactions, which together are also the source of the value they create and their competitive advantage.

We can do this by adapting tools from established societies for our tailored African Solutions, since its almost unfeasible to do it on our own. This can be reinforced by strategic planning and patience, which are the critical ingredients of defensible infrastructure. Even in the current world of blitzscaling, building infrastructure with a competitive edge has these two implicitly embedded.

These values should be introduced early in our organizations and cultivated throughout their life-cycles. As time passes, and ecosystems mature it will become second nature for us and possibly natural to our progeny.

I believe this "leapfrogging mentality" promoted to Africans vis-à-vis letting them learn and build the fundamentals of ecosystems, while keeping up with global standards is detrimental to our technical development.

Leapfrogging lets us catch up, however, this has deceived some of us churning out "baseless" new features that they're pioneers. A point to remember, pioneers often come home with arrows in their backs and worse for poseurs.

By Phineahs Munene

email feedback to phineahs [at] wazomoja.com

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