On 12 April, Africa witnessed a historic moment, one that could potentially prove seismic in shaping its future. Jumia, the e-commerce startup that has been catering to African consumers through the online sale of products since 2012, officially launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The “Jumia Phenomenon”, it being the first African tech start-up listed on the NYSE, has now firmly cast the spotlight on the continent’s start-up scene. A range of stakeholders including governments, investors and prospective entrepreneurs are keen to learn and participate in what is happening.

Whilst Jumia brought on a revolution in a fragmented and outdated African retail environment by bringing mainstream e-commerce to Africa, an undertaking that will lead to positive spillover effects for Africa’s tech ecosystem (such as Jumia Alumni Founders), I want to highlight other innovations happening on the continent that are supported by venture capital, through my experience at Savannah Fund, which has invested in over 30 start-ups in seven countries over the last six years. Given that I’m writing from Arusha, Tanzania – an agricultural hub in the heart of the Rift Valley on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and Meru – I will focus on agriculture’s potential tech transformation and highlight some of the challenges African start-ups face.

Africa’s potential to be the “food basket for the world” has been no secret for a while. With 60% of the world’s unused arable land and 54% of Africa’s population working in the sector, the continent has enormous agricultural promise. The African Development Bank acknowledges the importance of agriculture to the continent’s transformation by explicitly making it one of its High 5 priorities, under the headline “Feed Africa”.

Despite this acknowledgment, Africa remains the most food-insecure region in the world and a net importer of food. This calls for a fresh approach; agritech may just be the answer.

Aerobotics is one tech start-up rising to this challenge by employing drone imagery and artificial intelligence to enable early pest and disease detection to help forecast yield. Another start-up, Tulaa in Kenya, which provides smallholder farmers with quality agricultural inputs on credit and also employs artificial intelligence to connect farmers, input suppliers and buyers in a digital marketplace.

Innovative business models employing sophisticated technology very often require partners and investors not only with an understanding of Africa, but with expertise in sub-sectors like artificial intelligence and robotics, and how they can be developed and applied within an African context. Venture capital firms, contrary to the common misconception, are not simply providers of capital, but by way of their team composition often add value to their portfolio companies precisely through this wide range of knowledge and expertise on the operational and business side.

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