

The Startup Accelerator That Wants Founders to Move to Africa - RougeFemme
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026243/the-startup-accelerator-that-wants-founders-to-move-to-africa

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jusben1369
Quote 1: " "Instead of building the third, fourth, fifth photo filter file
sharing app, you can solve big problems and disrupt industries.”

Quote 2: "the accelerator invests an average of about $25,000 in early-stage
companies"

I don't really care much about whether it's the chicken or the egg but if you
give people $25,000 and a 12 weeks to sink or swim you can't really blame them
if they create another photo filter app. They sure as heck don't have the
runway to solve big complex problems and disrupt industries.

Given the distance and size and scope of Africa's problems maybe they should
"disrupt the accelerator industry" and pay two founders salaries for 12 full
months to go solve big complex problems.

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macNchz
$25k goes dramatically farther in Nairobi or Cape Town than it does in the Bay
Area.

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majani
I'm from 88mph's first batch. in Nairobi. They gave me 25k USD to test out my
idea to build Kenya's first blog network(
[http://ghafla.co.ke](http://ghafla.co.ke)
[http://tambaa.co.ke](http://tambaa.co.ke) and
[http://duwaa.co.ke](http://duwaa.co.ke) ). Needless to say, my investors were
pleasantly surprised when I built the whole company using that money. Now we
make 25k USD a month

~~~
randomhuman24
Please don't take anything I say as criticism, but somewhere else in the
thread you've said AMA, so:

\- Why exactly did you need 25k to build Kenya's first "blog network"?

\- Where did the money go? Can you provide us with a break down?

\- What prevented you from doing this without the 25k investment? You could
have used Wordpress and a host like WPEngine, and I can't think of a cost more
than $25-100/month.

\- Are you paying writers, or is this all freely written content? Or are you
just linking to other blogs in the market?

\- Also, not a question, but except for the first link, the other two sites
are down for maintenance.

Thanks.

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soneca
It might be a good thing for everyone involved to watch this TV show about
international NGOs in Africa: [http://africasacountry.com/kenyas-first-
mockumentary-takes-o...](http://africasacountry.com/kenyas-first-mockumentary-
takes-on-the-ngo-world/)

Funny (if not relevant) quote from the show's creator

" _What’s the craziest story you’ve heard about an NGO?_

I heard from someone in the US that an organization was having a charity
auction to raise money for endangered rhinos and the prize for this charity
auction was to go hunt a rhino in Namibia. [AIAC note: Yes people, this
happened. You can even see it on the Colbert Report and CNN]."

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kungfooguru
Why not fund Africans in Africa...

~~~
jotm
They can benefit immensely from knowledge and experience that is considered
basic in the West. Hell, even Eastern Europe has a lot of things to learn in
that regard.

~~~
deftnerd
We in the West have no idea what problems they have and what technologies
would be applicable.

I would rather see an exchange program. trade groups of founders for 6 months
at a time.

A successful African developer might have some ideas on a product for rural
Americans with poor broadband, or populations that do lots of shopping at
small markets rather than grocery stores, or organizing ride shares, or
getting low-availability clients to get vaccinated.

Lots of things in America are diminishing in quality. We aren't anywhere near
third-world status, but we can learn a lot from the people who have made
things work in those badly managed systems.

~~~
jotm
Founder exchange is a great idea.

By African, you mean one of those people who has never seen a stable Internet
connection or even a stable power line, or you mean a South African from
Johannesburg?

Cause there's a big difference, and I don't think the former would have many
good ideas for a developed country, even for it's worst areas. No offense,
it's just that the more you're exposed to various things and technologies,
even simple ones like silicone sealants, drain pipe cleaners, proper
supply/sewage pipe laying, a plotter, or a proper 3-axis lathe, the more
you're able to create.

And did you see first hand how things "work" in those systems? They barely
function - I'm talking about waste management, bill payment and banking,
Internet and electricity, even food and goods delivery/distribution
(surprisingly hard when you don't have established land/sea/air shipping
routes nearby) - things that you take for granted in the US, UK, Germany, any
first world country.

Also, few things are designed for long term over there, it's mostly short term
fixes and patches, over and over again.

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mhoad
I just so happen to be moving from Australia to Kenya for half a year in a few
weeks, I am really keen to drop by their offices in Nairobi and check this out
in person.

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lgleason
Given what I have seen in South Africa, $25,000 is the equivalent of $50,000
here in the US. With that being said the local investment community has some
catching up to do. The ideas and talent are top notch.... a lot less
wantrepeneuers and ideas that are much more practical than yet another social
app etc..

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curiouslurker
Looks like the company they are touting as a 'major success' is based in
Singapore with Singaporean founders, serving Singaporean customers. One of
their featured perks is:

"Access to $0.80 roti prata and $2.50 nasi lemak"

There is nothing African about this company.

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AlexMuir
I chatted a while back with Kresten Buch who set this up. I know he's keen to
attract experienced developers/founders to mentor teams there. If you
seriously fancy broadening your horizons and spending a few months in Africa
then it's a great opportunity - drop them an email.

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majani
I'm from 88mph's first ever batch. AMA

~~~
ihatehandles
Hey majani, think we can have a chat about that sometime? I'm on twitter by my
same handle

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ihatehandles
The opportunities definitely are there, and so are the challenges which go
beyond the usual PMF jazz. That being said once you figure the environment out
you really can make headway. If it worked for me then it'll definitely work
for you guys

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krmboya
So I was speaking to a musician part of a music startup they've funded and he
told me 88mph got them a software dev from Europe to handle the tech side of
things.

That just sounded wrong..

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kungfooguru
Doesn't Africa have enough problems to deal with?

