In this week's show, we bring you two perspectives on the promise and peril of increased Chinese technology investment in Africa.
Harriet Kariuki is an emerging markets analyst in Kenya where she surveys the digital landscape and local start-up scene to identify investment opportunities for foreign companies, including many from China. Harriet also writes extensively on China-Africa tech issues on LinkedIn, where she discusses both the promise and peril of Chinese technology investment on the continent.
Not surprisingly, there is a very different outlook on these issues and the African market as a whole in Beijing, according to Zahra Baitie, the China Director at the consultancy Development Reimagined and a co-founder of the events company Kente and Silk.
Her next event, Riding the Technology Disruption Wave in Africa, will take place in Beijing on November 22 and will feature an introduction to the African start-up ecosystem along with an overview of the opportunities and challenges that await Chinese tech investors on the continent.
Recommendations
- “Clash of the US and Chinese Tech Giants in Africa,” Aubrey Hruby, The Financial Times, September 4, 2018
- “‘China Is Everywhere’ in Africa’s Rising Technology Industry,” Justina Crabtree, CNBC.com, July 28, 2017