Abstract:
High expectations exist for Africa’s ability to harness the digital wave, while
simultaneously making vast developmental strides forward as a result. This qualitative
study establishes the key drivers of success in understudied African platform economies
and ascertains the developmental contribution of these platform economies to the
continent. Findings from engaging twelve established and emerging African platforms
with a total operational coverage in twenty African countries reveal the following:
African platform definition of success is shifting gradually towards a shared prosperity
model. The underlying African business environment in which platforms exist is largely
inhibitive due to infrastructural and regulatory inadequacies, hence the key success
drivers for platforms lie in the contextual capabilities of the platform.
African platforms are internally motivated to contribute to continental development,
typically as a business imperative, and are not uninfluenced by external developmental
agendas such as the UN SDGs. African platform contribution to sustainable development
is limited, by topic and by continental impact, and will meet high developmental
expectations in the current inhibitive business environment. While a few platforms are
strategically committed to developmental outcomes, the developmental impact of African
platforms is, overall, inadequately monitored
