Op-Ed: On African Innovation: Where Do We Begin?

             

In the first installment of this series on African Innovation, I sought to establish the fact Africa was ripe for innovation, if necessity was the mother of invention,   and that African innovation, need not be high-tech. In the second part (read here), I asked the   question:  Can African Innovate? My preliminary answer : Africans Innovate, therefore Africa can innovate, IF…

The “IF” introduced a series of preconditions, which would be critical for driving relevant African Innovation. 

In this edition, I would like to address one of those pre-conditions by asking the question, where do we begin? 

In order to get “there” however, a little digression: a few days ago I read some refreshing news about two Nigerian female students who had won an Award in the Medicine and Health category, of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, in LA. They had found a solution for bad breath using walnuts. They actually came up with an hypotheses and tested it by conducting structured research into it leading to  an innovation that solves a problem which according to them is  faced by many of their peers.

They were secondary school students (Doregos Academy), just like the other young girls (Where are the guys?) the ones who powered a generator using urine.

This story was refreshing in and of itself, but it further served to reinforce my belief that African Innovation must begin with Africa’s Education.  We cannot change a people until we

Dear Artiste: Ten Questions To Ask Before You Sign That Recording Contract (Conclusion)

In the first installment of this article (you can read here) I highlighted the first three questions:

• What do I really need from the record label?

• What is the scope of the contract?

• What costs are recoupable by the record label?

In this second and final installment, helped by a warning from my Editor to conclude the  post and to avoid “to be continued write ups” in the future, I’ll jump right into the last seven questions to ask:

#Opportunities: Call For Applications - Innovation Prize For Africa

The IPA is an initiative of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) started in 2011. IPA honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving cost in Africa. 


The prize also promotes among young African men and women the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers as well as business opportunities with potential of contributing to sustainable development in Africa. Specifically, the award targets technological breakthroughs in such main concern areas as manufacturing and service industry, health and well-being,agriculture and agribusiness, environment, energy and water and ICTs. To date, there have been three (3) rounds of competition.

• Mobilizing leaders from all sectors to fuel African innovation

• Promoting innovation across Africa in key sectors through the competition

• Promoting science, technology and engineering as a rewarding,career path among African youth.

• Encouraging entrepreneurs, innovators, funding bodies and business development service providers to exchange ideas and explore innovative business opportunities.

IPA 2015 consists of three prizes:

• USD 100,000 for the winner with the best innovation based on marketability, originality, scalability, social impact, scientific/technical aspect and clear business potentials

• USD 25,000 for the Second Prize with the best commercial/business potential and

• USD 25,000 for the Special Prize for Social Impact Innovation which awards the innovation with the highest social impact in the community/country.

The IPA is focused on:

By providing USD 150,000 to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development, the IPA acknowledges and encourages the endeavor of innovators and entrepreneurs and works to raise their profiles on the development agenda.

Application deadline: 31st October, 2014 

For more info, visit: http://ow.ly/AwkL3 

Slideshare: Understanding Film And Intellectual Property

For those who missed it, below is a link to a presentation delivered by the Principal Partner Adelphi Consulting, Ese Oraka, at the Film Production Fund/Project Nollywood Act/LBS Entrepreneurial Development Service Capacity Building Workshop, Lagos, Nigeria. 



The Federal government launched Project ACT, a 3 billion naira film intervention fund managed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of culture and tourism. A sub component of this fund is the Film Production Fund 700 million Naira film production fund with the aim of the allocating grants to production companies and independent producers who were at different stages of production.



Sometime in April, prequalified applicants for the fund- as part of the process- attended two day workshops organized in conjunction with Lagos Business School in Lagos, Kano and Abuja. They were expected to receive training on things that related to the business side of film production, and participants attended session’s on business modeling business planning and related stuff. 



For those who were not there or for those who were there and didn’t get the slides; click the link to view or download the presentation: http://ow.ly/AwjbZ 

OP- ED: On African Innovation - Can Africa Innovate? (Part 2)

In the first part of this series (If you missed it you can read it here), I tried to make a couple of points:

• If necessity was the mother of invention then Africa was ripe for innovation

• The current discourse and examples of African innovation appears to be skewered towards ICT and may be distracting from the need to innovate in more critical sectors

• Innovation, especially African Innovation, needs not be high-tech.

• If we develop a broad definition of innovation and not rely solely on the silicon valley version of it.

• If we pace ourselves and develop innovations organically, rather than leaping to building a satellite to launch into space. China has grown its innovation from being a  low-cost producer of manufactured goods for the rest of the world and is now seeking  to develop higher value-added products.

These thoughts would be recurring threads in the series, but for now, the question I am trying to answer is Can Africa Innovate? I had given examples of Africans who had innovated in both ICT and non-ICT related sectors,  African’s are innovative, it take a lot of innovation to live in many parts of Africa.  But can Africa innovate in the way and on the scale that globally innovative companies do?

While, researching this Article, I googled my question “Can Africa Innovate?” Scanning through the first thirty results, I couldn’t find one article asking the  question. I began to wonder if the question was moot for many, if  it was unnecessary i.e why even bother asking?

I decided to run a search with the question “Can China Innovate?” Within the first ten results, there where links to articles or reports either asking the same question or variations of it, and other results including “Why China Cant innovate” “Joe Biden Is Wrong- China Does Innovate” and “Chinese Can Innovate But China Cant.”

Would I be wrong if I assumed that no one was asking if Africa could innovate, because no one thought Africa could? I’m still thinking about it, but this is my preliminary answer:  Africans are innovative, thus Africa can innovate: 

We must introduce innovation, critical thinking and intellectual property into our school curriculum; and this does not necessarily need to disrupt the current process significantly. Our schools must move from teaching to learning, the students should be moved from focusing on passing exams to solving problems.

We need to educate Nigerian investors and venture capitalist on investing in innovative companies, it takes a different mindset, and investors in these parts tend to be scared of investing in untested models.

We need engineers. Not just engineers but engineers who understand creativity, design and business innovation - most of the innovative western companies were founded by engineers.

Government needs to play its role in protecting intellectual property and financing innovation hubs directly connected to research institutions and or industries where they are located.

I intend to address each of these issues with more detail in subsequent parts of the series, until then though, I’m putting the question to you: Can Africa Innovate? 

Do share your thoughts with us. Thanks and have a great week.

©Ese Oraka

Image credit: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/matthewdepaula/files/2014/06/8161674482_6afa443513_c.jpg

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Ese Oraka is a Lawyer and Business Designer. He has extensive knowledge and experience in IP and Business Law, Innovation Management and Business Model Design. He is a founding partner at Adelphi Consulting. You can find him on - Twitter: @eseoraka, Facebook: /ese.oraka.9, or email info@adelphionline.com

Dear Artiste: Ten Questions To Ask Before You Sign That Recording Contract

As someone who has spent a significant amount of time consulting for both record labels and artistes in Nigeria; 2013 was a heartbreaking year for me.  Why?

We  all saw the scenario played and replayed - before our eyes:

• B to A-list  artiste who had signed  to record label in the midst of hype and high expectations

• A few months or years down the road, for whatever reasons, decides to leave the label (or label decides to drop the artiste)

• Accusations and counter-accusations, lots of talk about contractual obligations until artiste is let go and he starts his own label

• Or artiste goes back  or artiste goes back on new terms, or artiste goes back but sets up his own label

• Or artiste is taken to or takes record label to court and careers are stalled and so  on and so forth.

1. What do I really need? Most new artistes need a range of things from a record label including production support. Some artistes, like one I recently represented, had produced mixed and mastered an album, done a video and was independently promoting her work before the record label got interested. Understanding what you really need from a record label is critical to helping you understand the contract and what to expect from the label. This will also be critical for preparing your recording budget. In Nigeria, many record labels so called, only have a name and a website, but lack the production, promotion and distribution infrastructure that the artiste really needs.

1. What is the scope of the contract? What does the contract cover? Is it just a recording and management contract or is it a 360 contract. In recent times, Nigerian record labels have caught on to this and some insist on a 360 deal. If you opt for a 360 deal, I advise that you are clear on what and how much it is the record label is contributing to each specific income stream, and that the profit sharing ratio reflects this investment. (With endorsements for example, the record label usually takes a far lesser percentage than  it does for  record sales and performances)

1. What costs are recoupable?  Recoupable costs, refers to monies spent on the artiste prior to the point where the artiste begins to generate revenue.  Recoupable costs may include recording costs, promotional and marketing costs, music video and in many cases the artiste advance and/or sign on fee. In some cases like production  and marketing, costs may be recouped 100%, in others such as artiste car and wardrobe it could be less  say 50%) I personally do not encourage record labels recouping sign on fees as I see it as a token of recognition of what the artiste is bringing to the table; it is at this point my record label clients ask “Whose side are you on?” So that’s all I’ll say about that.

©Ese Oraka

So to the artiste excited about a record deal in the offing, here are ten questions to ask before you sign the dotted lines:

To be continued.

Image credits: signing-contract.jpg
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Ese Oraka is a Lawyer and Business Designer. He has extensive knowledge and experience in IP and Business Law, Innovation Management and Business Model Design. He is a founding partner at Adelphi Consulting. You can find him on - Twitter: @eseoraka, Facebook: /ese.oraka.9, or email info@adelphionline.com

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