Silicon Savannah Goes To Silicon Valley

Today Kenya’s President William Ruto is taking Kenya, which is dubbed the Silicon Savannah of Africa, to an official state visit to the US, the home of Silicon Valley. It is the first official visit by a Kenyan President in the last two decades, facilitated by Ambassador Meg Whitman who used to be one of the titans of Silicon Valley but is currently serving as the US Ambassador to Kenya.

Last year, Whitman invited President Ruto to tour Silicon Valley as a precursor to today’s visit during which they made the case for tech investments in Kenya and Africa. Kenya leads the KINGS countries (Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa) that are pioneers of the digital economy in Africa. Chanzo Capital launched the KINGS fund to invest in these countries to create and expand the digital economy in Africa.

Whitman is determined to be the ambassador who makes good on the US pledge to prioritise business in Africa. This is because the US has paid lip service to expanding its business in Africa whilst China has taken the lead in doing business with Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative. Under an initiative called Why Africa, Why Kenya, Whitman has become an evangelist for the idea that American businesses should consider her host country and continent as a business destination[10].

“I have come to Silicon Valley to underscore the Kenyan government’s strategic intent to support through infrastructure and other investment, the enhancement of Kenya’s position as the epicentre of Africa’s innovation and technological transformation,” President Ruto said last year. We will hear from him today.

Whitman, who is worth $3.4 billion according to Forbes, is best known for taking eBay from $5.7 million to $8 billion in sales as CEO from 1998 to 2008. She subsequently became president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. from 2011 to 2015 and oversaw its split into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). She stepped down as HPE’s CEO in 2018 and has sat on the boards of Procter & Gamble and General Motors before becoming an ambassador in 2022.

According to Nii Simmonds, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, US companies like Microsoft, Google and IBM are expanding rapidly into Africa making huge investments in infrastructure and innovation. Microsoft and G42 just announced a $1 billion investment into Kenya’s digital ecosystem. Simmonds reckons “The time is ripe for a new, bolder partnership between the US and Africa. Biden and Ruto are right to call for a transition away from a relationship built on aid to one that fosters sustainable economic growth and increased trade, seeding the grounds both for a booming manufacturing sector in Africa and a clean energy revolution in the US. However, achieving this goal will require a deliberate strategy to entice US multinationals to invest more in the continent.”

He added “The opportunities for greater US investments should be obvious. By 2050, Kenya and other African countries will see a significant influx of young workers, offering US manufacturers a valuable labour force, that can often perform the same or superior quality work at a lower cost than what Chinese workers demand. With a population nearing 1.5 billion, projected to reach 2.5 billion, Africa will likely increase its share of global trade and manufacturing. This growth will create skilled jobs and increase purchasing power for goods and services, similar to developed economies, creating new markets for American-made goods”.

I agree with Simmonds that Africa has what the US needs and vice versa. With Whitman and President Ruto’s visit, Silicon Valley could forge a mutually beneficial relationship with Silicon Savannah.

This article was written by Eric Osiakwan, Managing Partner at Chanzo Capital.