Whether it’s horrible bosses & where to find them, the wave of massive layoffs or the most recent Silvergate Bank debacle, there’s no shortage of drama in the tech scene: in Nigeria, in Africa, globally and probably the entire Milky Way galaxy.

So what the heck is going on?

Join Ojuolape & her guest, Abraham, an independent digital economy researcher and technology journalist/commentator.

*This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Ojuolape Kuti: I’ll start with what we’re all thinking: is the tech ecosystem always this chaotic?

Abraham Augustine: Haha well, I guess you could say it’s more like a cycle. The tech ecosystem, as we know it today, is relatively new.

There’s a lot of acceleration in the ecosystem because of the venture capitalist model of business, where there’s an incentive to make profits and make it fast. Unlike SMEs that grow 1-2% yearly, a VC-backed company might want 25% monthly. It’s reminiscent of the 2000 dot-com bubble or the 2008 crisis. Between that time and now, things have been relatively less dramatic and quiet.

But with this acceleration and growing attention came the saying, “tech is the new oil”. The problem with hype, however, is that it’s hard to live up to. When anything goes mainstream, there’s the tendency to find bad actors who misbehave. We’ve seen stories of founders overspending on personal expenditures while making minimal revenue.

The current issues in tech are not unique to Africa, however. It’s a global thing. In all fairness, factors beyond our control also contribute. For example, there was the zero-interest rate by banks, which allowed investors to borrow and invest, knowing they wouldn’t have to refund the bank with interest. This deepened in 2020, creating a pool of funds that needed an outlet for profits. In the last two years alone, Africa has raised more money than the past few years combined. Putting money into tech in Africa was relatively cheaper (exchange rates, cheaper capital etc.).

But then, the Feds raised rates. You can imagine what happened next.

Ojuolape: I find it interesting that you mention how Africa got a lot of attention there. Practically, is tech really doing anything for Africa?

Abraham: I’d say overall, it is, and it’s a net good. Are there areas to be criticised? Sure.

Take Kenya, for example, with M-Pesa (a mobile banking service): it’s not without its flaws, but it also meets needs. 

Beyond financial inclusion, we’ve seen the impact on food & agriculture, recreation and government services. In Rwanda, it’s easy to access government services online, reducing the surface area for corruption because it’s automated.

Ojuolape: Do you think the African market is well primed for more seemingly complex concepts like web3 & AI?

Abraham: The broader thing is that we must be ready even if we’re not. With AI, for example, it’s coming, it’s here. For web3, Africa is not only prepared, but we’re already players. Although careful with crypto, I’m a fan of stablecoins and what they can do when done right.

Stablecoins help with cross-border payments but with limitations because that problem is fundamentally political. Because of the instability of policies (financial or otherwise) that tends to be common in African countries, it also means if I were a Ghanaian, I wouldn’t want to hold Naira as it fluctuates in value. A stablecoin is not a magic wand that can wave that away.

Ojuolape: Asides from fintech, what other industries do you think need attention?

Abraham: While it’s true fintechs shouldn’t get all the attention, they’re more VC-backable. Here’s what I mean: these startups tend to scale faster. An example is putting capital in a farm prone to excessive pre- and post-harvest food losses, which can never be recovered and slow down overall company growth.

But there are other types of funding available for these other industries.

Also, VCs don’t fully understand how these other spaces work in Africa. Excel sheets are easier with finances and not so much for solving how an unplanned tropical storm in Malawi can disrupt farming activities.

So we can complain, or we can go help with the understanding of these markets.

Ojuolape: What are you excited about or looking forward to in the African tech space?

Abraham: I’m interested in how the food market space shapes up. In East Africa, there’s a growing use of agents for e-commerce.

I’m also looking forward to overall digitisation: agriculture, supply chains, education, etc. It’s all a work in progress.

Ojuolape: Bonus fire section: what’s something you’ve been loving recently? (song, article, book, podcast etc.?)

Abraham: The Key Man: How the Global Elite was Duped by a Capitalist Fairytale by Simon Clark and Will Louch is one book that helped me see the world of finance for what it is and introduced a much-needed dose of scepticism/ cynicism to my formerly rose-tinted glasses. Highly recommend.

Find Abraham on Twitter.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained more exposure recently, especially generative models. But as it progresses, what will it mean for job security and the current labour market as a whole?

Join Ojuolape & her guest, Opeyemi, a Project Manager and Data Analyst with a record of successful projects and data. He’s also a big lover of compounding knowledge and can't go a week without eating fried chicken.

Subscribe now

*This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Ojuolape Kuti: Ope, what do you do? What does your day at work look like?

Opeyemi Ademola: I’m a project manager. Also a data analyst. My full-time job entails managing language-related projects. I like technology: building resources and software related to language, speech and voice. An example is Google Assistant, which we use to communicate using voice. I also work as a cultural consultant. So I work on different projects.

Ojuolape: That's quite an eclectic mix. You mentioned languages; how did that happen for you?

Opeyemi: When I worked in a PR Company at some point, I noticed then that the way we promoted was based more on localisation. That made me understand that we can invest in so many creative opportunities within Nigeria. Eventually, a couple of my friends and I came together and started a language-teaching platform. In the process, I also started building more interesting technology, a part of Google. I didn't study linguistics. I simply started relating with people in the linguistic world and acquiring a series of knowledge certificates.

Ojuolape: So, let’s chat about AI. I mean, it's been getting a lot of attention recently, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. What are your immediate thoughts?

Opeyemi: I’d say AI is a good and bad thing. Here’s my main question: will we need or use this product in the next five to six years? I think more attention needs to be paid to timeless products that solve real problems.

When it comes to marketing, for example, it can never be like the human interaction we connect with. Can it appeal to human emotion? I’m yet to find an answer to that or be convinced.

Ojuolape: As a data analyst, do you think AI will take tech jobs, yours, for example?

Opeyemi: With AI, our jobs can still be ours but enhanced, such as helping us multitask, solve problems faster etc. It also depends on the industry. Because, for example, more technical and manual roles still require human input.

Ojuolape: Now, tell me something a little bit harder: for anyone who wants to transition into tech, does it feel like an already sinking ship?

Opeyemi: There’s still space for anyone to come in. With product managers, for example, you still need to help build these products, even the ones that enable AI. As a creative though, I think it’s important to upskill and become very good at what you do such that you’re preferred. It’s definitely more pressure.

I recently heard about Tesla having issues and stocks going down. It’s humans that’ll need to solve these backend problems: logistics, business and so on.

Ojuolape: This segues nicely to my next question: how can we prepare for/work with AI?

Opeyemi: In the language space, there’s something we call conversational AI. It’s why we can chat with bots on particular websites. It’s very useful, but it’s not like human interaction for customer service because there could be peculiar customer issues. AI should help to ease human stress, such as categorising complaints etc. That’s the essence of AI.

We can work with it as it reduces some workload to optimise our contribution.

Ojuolape: So, is there a flip side? Maybe AI can also create jobs that didn't exist before.

Opeyemi: Yes, yes. An example is the need for ethics and regulation. Who/what cross-checks AI writing essays for students? Because even in the recent past, project management was largely for construction workers. So new roles begin to crop up as industries expand.

Ojuolape: Do you think Africa isn’t involved in this wave?

Opeyemi: No, Africa is. A lot more of what we produce here is solution-based because of the many peculiar problems we face.

Ojuolape: Perhaps we just don’t have the luxury to create random things.

Opeyemi: Exactly. Also, most investors obviously are more drawn to what will make the most money, which is understandable.

With Africa, we need to improve our positioning and marketing, especially locally.

Ojuolape: I was going to joke about how we should all go back to lounging and let AI do all the hard work.

Opeyemi: Haha yes, but what kind of society would that be? AI comes with its own challenges, so we’ll always have work to be done.

I understand the concern about AI and losing jobs, but I don’t think there’s currently much to worry about.

For me, I’m more concerned about building products that solve real-life problems. An example is how much of these technologies take people with disabilities into consideration. I feel these are some of the more pressing issues rather than entertainment-based AI products.

Ojuolape: Bonus fire section: what’s something you’ve been loving recently? (song, article, book etc.?)

Opeyemi: Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run The World by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani.

Phew. Quite the mouthful.

Find Opeyemi on Twitter & Instagram.