Innovation goes beyond flashy tech—it’s about solving real-world problems with smart, simple solutions. Heman Bekele, TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year, proves this with his skin cancer-preventing soap. Africa, especially South Africa, can lead global innovation by focusing on these impactful, low-tech solutions. To do this, the continent must nurture talent and build ecosystems that spark creative problem-solving.
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By Thomas Oosthuizen
In my life, I’ve encountered more offices that list “innovation” as a company value than those that don’t. I believe this is because, even when executives are dissatisfied with their level of innovation, they still pursue the philosophy. After all, who wants to be labeled a laggard?
Heman Bekele, TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year, exemplifies true innovation. Ethiopian-born and now studying in the U.S., he developed a “low-tech” soap that prevents skin cancer—a prevalent issue in many parts of the world, including his home country. This achievement demonstrates that innovation doesn’t rely solely on high-tech solutions; it hinges on unconventional thinking applied to prevailing problems. Often, we over-engineer solutions when the answer can be simple and literally within reach, even with limited resources.
A 2024 McKinsey article highlights the impact of innovation on company returns, focusing primarily on high-tech areas and applications. However, it misses a critical point: most of these solutions are technology-based. While AI will undoubtedly play a key role in the future, the largest global companies have shifted their focus to high-end solutions for logistical issues, manufacturing challenges, data management, skills gaps, and information problems. This leaves significant gaps in addressing ordinary consumer and B2B problems that Africans, as well as people in Latin America and Southeast Asia, experience daily. While advanced companies aim to become more efficient, African companies often focus on solving human-centered problems—whether through low-tech or high-tech means applied to low-tech product and service solutions.
Heman should be in Africa, not in the U.S. He rightly recognizes that he can advance more rapidly in the U.S. at this time. However, as the world focuses on high-tech, shouldn’t South Africa create an ecosystem that leverages high-tech to solve low-tech consumer and business problems?
South Africa boasts some of the best universities on the continent, companies with global market penetration, and many global patents that remain uncommercialized. Yet, there is still an over-reliance on Western education systems. South Africa is a unique ecosystem. We have access to sophisticated technology, but shouldn’t we differentiate ourselves by attracting the best African and global talent? We should ensure that students learn not only Western approaches but also how to solve the unique problems that exist in less advanced areas. Shouldn’t our companies offer internships and competitions that drive this? Many telecommunications firsts originated in Africa, but does the world know this?
If we fail to create such an environment, we risk being seen as just another continent with under-resourced universities, lacking the inspiration to be perceived as unique in addressing global challenges. While we may have solved sophisticated problems, are we focusing on issues with lower margins but massive consumer volumes? Often, these can lead to better margins, as illustrated by an article about India and Unilever a few years ago. Companies in India and China have succeeded by circumventing the West’s obsession with R&D. We underestimate countries like China, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Brazil.
Yet, in my view, Africa is still trying to be “too Western.” Our future doesn’t lie there. Our South African universities talk about being “African,” but have they truly grasped what that means? It’s more than just appointing more Pan-African lecturers. How many Ph.D. topics genuinely address real African problems? I know Rhodes University investigates future food sources, but is that enough?
The future lies in identifying and pursuing the abilities, opportunities, advances, and technologies that can make South Africa the last bastion of human innovation. We see promising signs in fashion, art, and the softer sciences. We see it in financial services and telecommunications. Yet, when innovation occurs, we fail to create an ecosystem to globalize it. Why do Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Hermès do more for African fabrics than Africa does? Are we integrated in our thinking? No, we are not. When comparing the global Design Institute, of which South Africa is a member, Taiwan created a specific ecosystem with huge success. Technology played a significant role, but only after identifying and addressing the issues.
I also believe that these innovative products won’t just apply to emerging markets but to the world at large. Heman’s soap, for instance, would be highly useful in Australia and California. Product innovation often emerges from unexpected places. Too much reliance on technology can stifle creativity, leading us to believe AI will solve all future problems. It won’t. Human ingenuity and observation, living among people, remain core stimulants for identifying product and service gaps—the “soft” ones that technology or AI may miss.
I believe South Africa is ahead of many parts of the world when it comes to innovation. Despite having more capital, Europe stopped seriously innovating long ago. While there are notable exceptions, for a continent with such a high level of education, it has lost its innovation edge. Much has been written about this in recent years. Europe even has some of the best universities in the world, so there is no lack of skills.
Therefore, I must assume the issue lies in attitude. The U.S., and increasingly China, hold strong innovation advantages. It’s telling that Heman studies at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has an uncanny ability to attract talent that innovates. Why can’t Africa create its own unique path? It’s no wonder that many of the digital natives in the U.S. who are industry leaders are immigrants. They bring untainted skills and attitudes, focusing on what they can “win,” not on what they can lose.
We must retain and attract a new kind of student and entrepreneur who sees Africa as an opportunity, not just a stepping stone. I believe Africa can lead the world, and South Africa can be the pivot of that leadership. But it will require focus and hard work, not a fragmented approach.
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