SMEs to build businesses with new technologies

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operators will be building their businesses with new technologies from Microsoft Corporation going forward. This was revealed at the DEMO Africa event held recently in Nairobi, Kenya, in which the corporation had strategic co-operation agreements with three incubator organisations across the African continent, to enable start-ups, innovators, SMEs and Africa’s developer community to grow their skills.

Under the recently launched Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, Microsoft has entered into agreements with CcHUB in Nigeria, DTBiin Tanzania and AfriLabs, the pan-African hub network. The co-operation aims to offer the communities working in these hubs increased access to software, skills development opportunities and a means through which innovative start-ups can access capital investment, benefit from international outreach and scale their businesses to the world through Microsoft’s cloud computing solutions.

The Co-Creation Hub, or CcHUB is Nigeria’s first innovation lab and pre-incubation space designed to catalyse creative social technology ventures. It is a place for technologists, social entrepreneurs, government and investors in and around Lagos to co-create new solutions to address business opportunities and social needs in Nigeria.

AfriLabs is a network organisation that connects incubator hubs across the continent, in order to promote the growth and development of the African technology sector. AfriLabs has 20 member organisations in Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.

Microsoft will work with each organisation to support the start-up community with Microsoft BizSpark memberships and access to business networking and capital investment opportunities. BizSpark is a global programme that helps start-ups grow into successful businesses through software support and a vibrant ecosystem that delivers exceptional business advantage.

It will also enable developers to access the latest events and workshops on Microsoft’s newest development technologies through relevant community events.

The partnership with AfriLabs will support the development of sustainable and scalable working environments across the continent, such as technology hubs and incubation centres, to stimulate entrepreneurship and support African start-ups. Microsoft will work with Afrilabs to help start-ups working in these hubs to become successful technology companies driving innovation, employability, competitiveness and growth in Africa.

Mteto Nyati, vice chairman, 4Afrika Advisory Council and managing director of Microsoft South Africa, said, “Microsoft sees boundless potential in African youths, developers and entrepreneurs, and we view the collaborative efforts with these innovation hubs across the continent as strategic and crucial opportunities for us to extend our support to their ecosystems. Through the 4Afrika Initiative, we are deeply committed to helping accelerate African innovation, and we hope these efforts will help us reach more people who are looking to turn their great ideas into a reality that can empower their community, their country and Africa at large.”

Reacting to this announcement, Bosun Tijani, CEO of Co-Creation Hub Nigeria, said: “This partnership is the culmination of several collaborations between CcHUB and Microsoft Nigeria over the past two years, and we are really excited at the opportunity to implement programmes in support of innovation and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.”

The Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative will among other things bring 1 million African small and medium-size enterprises online.

By: OLUYINKA ALAWODE