Matthew Guest 
Head of Digital Strategy, EMEA, Deloitte
Foundations for Africa’s Digital Journey
“To produce means to
combine materials and forces
within our reach”
Joseph Schumpeter, 1910
Computers and other digital advances are
doing for mental power — the ability to use
our brains to understand and shape our
environments — what the steam engine and
its descendants did for muscle power
Erik Brynjolfsson, 2014
Digital companies are
7x more productive than
traditional ones
Source: Deloitte research, 2014
In the next ten years
40% of the Fortune 500
companies will be gone
Source: Olin School of Business at Washington University
Over the last twenty five years, almost all of
the private sector jobs have been created by
businesses less than five years old 
Source: Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, Kauffmann Foundation, 2014
Foundations
Digital skills &
education
Symmetry of
information
Pervasive access to
computing
Innovative AND
entrepreneurial culture
Pervasive access to
computing
Network capacity
Global connectivity
Enabling organisations
Device proliferation
Eric Brynjolfsson, 2014
“In the next 24 months we will add
more computer power than was
previously added in the whole of
human history”
Adults who own a cellphone
Source: Pew Internet Trends, 2014
Proportion of smartphones
0%
 20%
 40%
 60%
 80%
 100%
South Africa
Nigeria
Senegal
Kenya
Ghana
Tanzania
Smartphone
 Cellphone NOT smartphone
 No phone
- 
25,000 
50,000 
75,000 
100,000 
2009
 2010
 2011
 2012
 2013
 2014
Central
East
North
South
West
Networkinvestments,$Mn
Source: Versatileamphibian.blogspot.co.uk
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
SouthAfrica
Gabon
Namibia
Morocco
Zimbabwe
Nigeria
Algeria
Cameroon
Angola
Tunisia
Kenya
Egypt
Ghana
Botswana
Ethiopia
Malawi
Rwanda
Tanzania
Liberia
Zambia
Mozambique
Swaziland
Senegal
SierraLeone
Gambia
Uganda
SouthSudan
Coted'Ivoire
Togo
Niger
Networkinvestments,$perperson,2009to2014
Global average per capita investment
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
M&ATransactionValue,2009to2014
$33 Billion of M&A in 5 years
Source: Versatileamphibian.blogspot.co.uk
1 
10 
100 
1,000 
1 
 10 
 100 
 1,000 
M&Ainvestments,$perperson,2009to2014
Network investments, $ per person, 2009 to 2014
M&A and investment
relatively uncorrelated
Source: Versatileamphibian.blogspot.co.uk
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0
50
100
150
200
250
Europe
 Asia
 North
America
LATAM
 Africa
 Oceania
 Middle East
NumberofactiveIXPs,September2015
IXPspermillionpeople,September2015
Source: Versatileamphibian.blogspot.co.uk
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
UK, Italy
26 countries
have no IXP
NumberofactiveIXPs,September2015
Source: Versatileamphibian.blogspot.co.uk
Digital skills &
education
Symmetry of
information
Pervasive access to
computing
Innovative &
entrepreneurial culture
Consumers love
phones… but can’t
afford smart ones
Still (lots)
more to do on
infrastructure
Need (way)
more IXPs
M&A doesn’t lead to
more investment
Culture
Digital skills &
education
Symmetry of
information
Pervasive access to
computing
Innovative &
entrepreneurial culture
Still (lots)
more to do on
infrastructure
M&A doesn’t lead to
more investment
Consumers love
phones… but can’t
afford smart ones
Need (way)
more IXPs
Innovative &
entrepreneurial culture
Access to resources
Problems to solve
Ability to take risk
Appropriate regulation
Source: Tony Elumenu Foundation, 2014 
Substitutional, not
leapfrog innovation
Country 
Total early stage
entrepreneurial
activity %
Established
business
ownership %
Perceived
opportunities %
Perceived
capabilities %
Entrepreneurial
intention %
Fear of failure %
South Africa
 7
 2.7
 37
 38
 10
 25
Nigeria
 35
 15.7
 82
 88
 44
 21
Ghana
 25.8
 25.9
 69
 86
 46
 25
Uganda 
 35.5
 35.9
 77
 85
 60
 13
Brazil 
 17.2
 17.5
 56
 50
 25
 36
India 
 6.6
 3.7
 39
 37
 8
 38
Source: GEM, 2014
Psychology is
(mostly) right
Access to finance
very difficult
87%
 53%
Very hard to
find suppliers
Cost of inputs
prohibitive
60%
Source: Tony Elumenu Foundation, 2014
Access to finance
very difficult
87%
Kamal Bhattacharya, VP Research IBM Africa 
“Entrepreneurs are typically experts in their
own domains and markets, but they often
lack the skills, expertise and confidence to
take their business to the next level.”
Source: Geopoli, 2015
51%
55%
60%
63%
79%
48%
37%
40%
29%
16%
Provide training programmes
 Improve business conditions
OR
Training is the most
important thing
states can provide
DRC
South Africa
Nigeria
Ghana
Kenya
“All the traditional tools learnt to manage an
organisation are irrelevant in the first chaotic
year or two of an early stage venture”
Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur
Digital skills &
education
Symmetry of
information
Pervasive access to
computing
Innovative AND
entrepreneurial culture
Plenty of ideas…
but not so many
global ones
People want to
start their own
thing
Finance & supply chain
are major barriers
Digital success is a
volume game
Business and
entrepreneurial training
are really lacking
Consumers love
phones… but can’t
afford smart ones
Need (way)
more IXPs
Still (lots)
more to do on
infrastructure
M&A doesn’t lead to
more investment
Over the last twenty five years, almost all of
the private sector jobs have been created by
businesses less than five years old 
Source: Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, Kauffmann Foundation, 2014
Thanks for listening.

Africa's digital foundations