When the Daily Sun newspaper was launched in the late 90s, many believed it to be an ill-conceived idea amid the print industry decline. The people behind the paper targeted it at the emerging middle class, at the consumers of the future. Today, it is the most popular paper in the country.
For Derek Wilcocks, CEO of Dimension Data for EMEA, this kind of forward thinking is an example of entrepreneurship at its best. "True entrepreneurs see economic value where others only see heaps of nothingness," said Wilcocks during his presentation at the annual Internetix conference on Tuesday.
Today, society, communities and technology are coming together in very interesting ways, said Wilcocks, noting that this is particularly relevant in an African context. Wilcocks cited an example of a service that allows people living in rural communities to SMS the bar code on their medicine to an automated service. "About one million people die every year after taking medicine that is labelled incorrectly. This is technology being used to address a real social problem in Africa."
Similarly, he cited an example of a company that is using the 'please call me' service to send messages to HIV-infected individuals, reminding them to take their antiretroviral medication.
First-world markets are competitive, and also highly saturated, he said, adding that the real opportunity is at home. "Some of the world's biggest companies are looking to Africa for growth," said Wilcocks. The developing market is where companies should be focusing, he noted, mentioning Facebook's move to enable access on any device, even feature phones.
For Wilcocks, real entrepreneurs don't question the best way to make money; rather, they look for the best opportunities in society, discerning how they can cater to the needs of people. "Throughout history, Africa has always had people who take advantage of technological advancements," he noted. "Technology is becoming far more relevant to the developing world. It is Africa's turn to write its own story."
Technology will change the lives of future generations, and of employees and consumers, he concluded. "Applications, information and mobile technology in Africa have the potential to allow people to solve social problems while creating opportunities for themselves. It need not be high tech. True innovation happens at the confluence of societal need."
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