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The Realistic Optimist's vision is to become the referential publication covering the global startup scene. Today, this vision inches closer to reality.
Written by RO Correspondent James Mahon, this first RO Long Read is a 10,000+ word, three-part series exploring the discreet links between Japanese capital and the African startup scene.
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The Africa-Japan bridge, part I
Africa is often anointed ‘the last frontier’, by virtue of being the last continent teeming with greenfield opportunities across various realms of socio-economic development.
In startup terms, said green fields represent the opportunities to leapfrog legacy technologies straight into digital-native solutions tailored to the continent's realities.
As with other aspects of Africa’s development story, the usual cast of foreign actors - America, China, Europe - have taken on major roles in the emergence of its startup ecosystem.
Make no mistake. Africans have and will continue to be the chief force of ecosystem progress, as covered in great depth here in The Realistic Optimist. Yet, omitting the contributions made by foreign actors deprives us of crucial pieces of context.
Much has been written of China, Europe and America’s involvement. Over the past decade, another major foreign player (well-known to insiders but rarely spoken of) has peeked its head: Japan.