Abstract
Africa leads the world in the number of women starting businesses, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Many experts, including the World Economic Forum and the World Bank, believe that the 21st century is Africa's century and that its economic future depends on the success of its female entrepreneurs. Technology entrepreneurship in Africa seems to be on the rise. In 2017, the annual Global Start-Up Ecosystem Report (GSER) ranked the Lagos start-up ecosystem as the most valuable in Africa. In May 2019, the same report by start-up Genome, which researches start-up ecosystems across the world and claims to have data on over one million companies across 150 cities, named Lagos one of 12 “challenger” start-up ecosystems. With the increasing focus on technology and female entrepreneurship in Nigeria, this chapter seeks to chronicle the birth and growth trajectory of two platform companies in Nigeria led by two female African entrepreneurs: Abimbola Adebakin, CEO of Advantage Health Africa, and Glory Enyinnaya, Lead Consultant of Kleos Africa.
TopIntroduction
In today’s world, entrepreneurship has transitioned from being male-dominated and now experiences rapid increases in female involvement. Africa leads the world in the number of women starting businesses and many experts, including the World Economic Forum and the World Bank, believe that the 21st century is Africa’s century and that its economic future is dependent on the success of its female entrepreneurs. At the same time, technology entrepreneurship in Africa seems to be on the rise. In 2017, the annual Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) ranked the Lagos start-up ecosystem as the most valuable in Africa.
In May 2019, the same report by Start-up Genome, which researches start-up ecosystems across the world, named Lagos one of 12 “challenger” start-up ecosystems alongside the likes of Hangzhou, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, São Paulo and Tokyo. Each challenger has at least one unicorn. The report did not state which Lagos-based companies have a valuation of US$1 billion or more. However, Lagos seems to have made the list given its status as a focal point for the African continent.
With the increasing focus on technology and female entrepreneurship in Nigeria, this chapter seeks to chronicle the birth and growth trajectory of two platform companies in Lagos, Nigeria led by two female African entrepreneurs - Abimbola Adebakin, CEO of Advantage Health Africa and Glory Enyinnaya, Lead Consultant of Kleos Africa and also discuss the trends in female entrepreneurship in Africa, address the surrounding issues, as well as discuss solutions to these challenges
Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs are commonly viewed as small business owners, self-employed or business owners who employ people. Although there is no generally accepted definition of the term entrepreneur, Baumol (1990) cited in Casson et al. (2009), define an entrepreneur as a person who is ingenious and creative in finding ways to create and increase their wealth, power and prestige. More specifically, every entrepreneur is involved in wealth creation through planning, executing and implementing creative business ideas. An entrepreneur could also be described as an individual who is ready to take advantage of profitable business opportunities irrespective of the challenges encountered. These individuals usually possess unique personality characteristics, abilities and skills to organise a business enterprise (Tan, Williams & Tan, 2005). They create and deliver value in an economic system by turning bold ideas into reality, thereby improving the economy and create job opportunities. The goal of every entrepreneur is to produce sufficient income through the allocation of resources like land, capital and workforce. This wealth could translate from personal benefit to more general or national advantage. Consequently, all entrepreneurial activities contribute to the lasting economic growth of the nation, continent or the world in general.
Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, entails all the processes involved in being an entrepreneur. From the viewpoint of Ogbor (2009), entrepreneurship goes beyond owning and managing a business - it involves being strategic and innovative in business management. The Business Jargons (2009) noted that entrepreneurship is the act of developing and managing a business through investment and production, introducing new techniques and products, and by arranging inputs like land, labour, material and capital. Entrepreneurship is concerned with building a business and scaling it to the level of generating maximum profit. The role of entrepreneurship is, however, not limited to generating profit but creating innovative products and presenting life-changing solutions to initiate social and economic change.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Platform Entrepreneurship: Platform entrepreneurship is the creation of value beyond resources controlled, resulting in rapid growth and industry transformation.
Female Entrepreneurship: Female entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness of a driven and enterprising woman to develop, organise, and manage a business venture, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
Platforms: A platform is an innovative business model whose overarching purpose is to consummate matches among users and facilitate the exchange of goods, services, or social currency, thereby enabling value creation for all participants.
Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is the pursuit, discovery and realisation of value-creating opportunities.