Does Silicon Savanna have the cultural ingredients required to deliver on all the noise and promise?
Put another way, how many single minded, devoted, purists like Ken Njoroge can we expect? Just as there was only one Steve Jobs, he is likely a singular character. Startups are demanding mistresses requiring total and complete devotion. Side hustle, short term mentality simply don’t cut it. Very few people can do a Ken, staying steady over years without a vibrant supportive ecosystem to undergird their efforts.
So where does that leave all the elevated expectations of Silicon Savanna?
For a reference point take a look at this documentary on the what drives the Tel Aviv ecosystem making them the #2 destination for venture capital after Silicon Valley. A territory of 8M people with no immediate market to sell into, their market is thousands of miles away in North America. Notice the cultural ingredients that have earned Israel the moniker of “Startup Nation”
Does Nairobi have the cultural ingredients in her public life needed to create a vibrant, innovation-driven company-building ecosystem? Not on the evidence of the recent Endeavor report. Something needs to change, and its not just more capital!