HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE MORE AGGRESSIVE IN PROMOTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION DRIVEN ENTERPRISES & TECH STARTUP ENTREPRENEURSHIP
- It was a pleasure to be invited to the University of Botswana recently by the Faculty of Business School and to evaluate potential startup/SME idea stage concepts by Undergraduate (Bachelors) and Postgraduate (Masters). Disclaimer- i do not have expertise in evaluation of SMEs and i generally do not believe in SMEs! but i was more than happy to listen and learn. For Startups- yes there was significant value and expertise shared. Those that know me understand that i distinguish SMEs and STARTUPS very well.
2. The role of higher education in strengthening the development of skills and promoting entrepreneurship among its students is fundamental. Moreover, universities are an indispensable link so that the ideas generated in the classroom can be transferred to the commercial sphere.
3. Excellent pitch day platform (university- startup-Investors) shared today with Aditya Raja Ram at the University of Botswana where we evaluated some graduate and postgraduate startup 💡 ideas. Young Batswana if well guided could turn a lot of the local challenges we have in Botswana into global businesses. There is still an obsession to solve brick and mortar — but this could and SHOULD be changed TODAY! A good starting point- what happens to all these ideas that these young people present- all of them? Does the University have an IDEAS BANK? Every year a group if not groups of talent leave the University after sharing disruptive ideas- what happens to all these- do they live on or they just die the natural classroom death. This is where incubators, accelerators and partnerships take form to help and universities should take this to the private sector hubs and accelerators as a collaboration platform to build, test, prototype and commercialize ideas if feasible.
4. Corporates-Universities fit could have a significant role they can play to validate these aspiring student-led entrepreneurs. The multiple corporate-backed innovation hubs in Gaborone should acknowledge that Universities are the pipeline for startups. Basically universities give birth to tech entrepreneurs i.e Silicon Valley is what it is because there is an MIT University, Stanford University, etc etc.
5. The University needs to transform how it commits to the intellectual property and innovation that is shared by these students. Universities should launch their own “venture funds” to back these ideas.
6. Professors- Students Innovation partnership should be encouraged. The smartest people are not always young university graduates. The Universities could create incentive for professors with years of experience to share IP with young people who have the energy to build technology driven companies. This is now NEW. It exists i.e University of Stellenbosch, University of Johannesburg, University of CapeTown, MIT, etc etc etc. Professors in institutions like UB need to get equity in tech companies they help to bring to life.
7. Investors (wealthy Batswana) who have some capital (minimum 10k etc etc etc) could be invited on a rotating monthly basis to the university to listen to new disruptive ideas and fund those ideas. These people are called ANGEL INVESTORS. So the University needs to tap into wealthy affluent Batswana who like to buy expensive cars etc invest in land, property etc These groups of wealthy Batswana if well educated about “betting and investing on the future” could be the new financing instrument that takes a lot of student ideas to market with risk capital on shared equity model or what we call a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity). Most of what gets funded out of CapeTown, Carlifornia, Lagos, Nairobi, Kigali, London, etc etc is supported this way. The point is Batswana should bet on their own future through investing in new talent and new ideas.
8. Innovation Disruptive Enterprises (IDEs) that i picked at the UB session and i share them publicly here because they are just that…IDEAS and anyone who is building anything disruptive will trust that when ideas are shared they do not get stolen…its all about speed to execution. Ideas are like oxygen- no one owns any oxygen that is in the air…so speed is key! Execution is everything!
A. Converting chicken feathers into paper (THIS WOULD BE AN INVENTION if implemented)
B. Ridehailing platform- not new but pretty much what Mpitsa is doing. But there could be an acquisition or collaboration .
C. Code Naming Platform- leverages Setswana naming etc etc etc etc
9. Media, Story telling and FOMO-Universities need to invite media, tech bloggers, and podcasters to profile new talent and new ideas. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) culture should be created in the next wave startup ecosystem of disruptors. Media and startup story tellers play a significant role to let the world know where innovation is being built and this attracts investors.
10. Data-Driven Startups- universities should run more hackathons and challenges, competitions and supported by corporates to launch new ideas. This culture seems to be missing in many universities in Botswana.
Special thanks to:
Dr. Gaofetoge N Ganamotse (University of Botswana Business Faculty Professor) for hosting, Faculty of Business at UB and aspiring students startups.
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Keep building!
NGWANA AFRICA
