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Africa’s technology ecosystem is growing rapidly, but one question remains: How can African startups move beyond their individual markets and build businesses that compete across borders?
That question took center stage at joy FM that brought together technology leaders, innovators, and business builders to explore how stronger connections across Africa can unlock new opportunities.
Among the participants were Benedict Adu, Co-founder of Efie by Sibyl Systems; Nii Lante Heward-Mills, Country Director of Viamo Ghana and Liberia; and Isaac Chris-Quaye, Founder and CEO of MOONDOOG Technologies and Co-founder of NeuraHomes.
The conversation revealed an important truth: sometimes, the biggest opportunity for a startup isn’t sitting behind a computer or waiting for an email. It is sitting across the room.
From a Handshake to a Business Opportunity.
Summits are often associated with speeches, presentations, and formal meetings. But according to the participants, some of the most valuable opportunities happen during the moments in between.
Coffee breaks, Informal conversations and Networking sessions. These seemingly simple interactions can introduce founders to people, technologies, markets, and opportunities they may never have discovered on their own.
Benedict Adu highlighted how informal interactions at previous summits opened doors to information about emerging technologies, market-entry opportunities, tax incentives, and potential expansion routes into countries such as Nigeria, as well as international markets in Europe and the United States.
This demonstrates the real power of networking, one conversation can become the beginning of a much bigger journey.
Cross Border Collaboration: More Than Just Expansion.
For African startups, entering another country is not simply about finding customers. It can mean finding the right distribution partner, understanding local regulations, accessing new sources of capital, identifying industry users, or finding someone with the expertise needed to navigate an unfamiliar market.
Nii Lante Heward-Mills emphasized that cross border collaboration can connect businesses to a much wider ecosystem of resources including capital providers, distribution networks, innovators, industry expertise, and potential users.
This is particularly important for startups because growth rarely happens in isolation.
- A great product needs the right market.
- A great idea needs the right funding.
- And a technology solution needs the right people and industries willing to adopt it.
When these pieces come together, collaboration can turn a promising startup into a scalable business.
Regulation Has a Role to Play
As African technology continues to develop, regulation is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation. Technology can move quickly, but regulations and institutions need to ensure that innovation is introduced responsibly and sustainably.
Participants stressed the importance of involving regulators in conversations about technology adoption. They also noted that regulatory efforts are increasingly helping to create greater structure within the technology ecosystem.
For startups looking to expand across borders, understanding regulations is therefore not an afterthought.
It is part of the business strategy.
Knowing what is permitted, understanding tax incentives, navigating market entry requirements, and building relationships with relevant institutions can make the difference between an idea remaining local and a business successfully entering a new market.
And Then Came AI
As the conversation progressed, attention naturally shifted toward one of the biggest forces transforming the technology landscape: Artificial Intelligence.
Isaac Chris-Quaye was invited to share his perspective on AI, opening another important part of the discussion.
For African businesses, AI is not simply a global trend to observe from a distance. It presents an opportunity to rethink how businesses operate, solve problems, serve customers, and develop new products.
But the bigger question is not just:
“How can Africa use AI?”
It is:
“What problems can African innovators solve with AI?”
That distinction matters. Africa has unique markets, languages, industries, infrastructure challenges, and consumer needs. These realities create opportunities for African technology companies to develop solutions that are not only relevant locally but can also become valuable in other emerging markets.
Why This Matters to Efie
At Efie by Sibyl Systems, we understand that technology becomes more meaningful when it helps people connect.
Efie was built around a simple but powerful idea: language can be a bridge to culture, identity, family, and heritage.
For members of the African diaspora, learning Twi is not only about learning vocabulary. It can be about reconnecting with grandparents, communicating with family, understanding cultural expressions, and keeping a connection with home alive across generations.
The conversations at the summit reinforce something we believe strongly at Efie:
Technology has the power to remove borders.
A person can live thousands of kilometers away from Ghana and still learn Twi. A startup in Ghana can build partnerships with businesses in Nigeria, Europe, or the United States. An idea developed in one African market can find relevance somewhere else. The technology may be digital, but the impact is deeply human.
Africa’s Next Big Advantage Could Be Collaboration.
Africa does not lack innovators. What is needed is stronger connection between those innovators and the people, markets, capital, institutions, and expertise that can help their ideas grow.
That is why platforms that bring founders and industry leaders together matter. The value of a summit is not measured only by what happens on the stage. Sometimes, it is measured by what happens after the handshake.
- A conversation becomes a partnership.
- A contact becomes a customer.
- An introduction becomes an investment.
- An idea becomes a new market.
- And a startup that once saw borders as barriers begins to see them as opportunities.
The future of African technology will not be built by isolated companies.
It will be built by connected innovators, open markets, supportive regulators, bold ideas, and meaningful collaboration.
And perhaps the next breakthrough partnership is already waiting at the next coffee break. At Efie, we believe that connection is powerful. Sometimes, it starts with a language. Sometimes, it starts with a conversation. And sometimes, it starts with simply showing up.