Executive director of Innovate Africa Foundation, Tina Mbachu, has advocated more investment in grassroots innovation across the African continent, as there is an urgent need for stakeholders to support young entrepreneurs develop context-driven solutions to scale those innovations globally.
Speaking in Lagos, Mbachu described World Product Day as more than a celebration of products – it is a platform for inspiring meaningful change, adding that, “We are here at World Product Day to spotlight young innovators, real people building real solutions to real problems. Today’s hackathon is not just about code. It’s about change.”
She highlighted the foundation’s mission to empower the next generation of African changemakers, stressing that.
“At Innovate Africa Foundation, our mission is simple but powerful support young Africans to find problems in their communities, build local solutions, and scale those solutions across the continent”
Despite the increasing presence of innovation across the continent, Mbachu noted that many early-stage founders still struggle to go from idea to impact. “A lot of founders have the idea, but they don’t have the tools. They don’t know how to test, validate, or even ask if they’re solving the right problem,” she said.
She stressed that effective innovation must be rooted in the local environment. “If you’re building a solution for a farmer in Jos, you can’t think like someone in Toronto. You have to think locally. Understand the people. Understand the constraints. That’s real innovation,” she added. Hence, Innovate Africa, she said, is spearheading regional initiatives that bring together innovators, builders, and funders to foster this impact.
She explained that, “Our Inspire Africa Conference, now in Kigali, is one of many ways we gather Africa’s innovators, product builders, and investors to build a truly Pan-African ecosystem”
She emphasised the value of global partnerships in raising the bar for African innovation, adding that early-stage founders face major challenges with access to coaching and capital. “Through our partnerships with global players like Silicon Valley Product Group, we bring top-tier coaching directly to African product teams training them to build local, but think global,” she said.
While speaking on the team selection for Innovate Africa programs, Mbachu noted that, the strength of the founder often outweighs the strength of the idea.
‘Are they passionate? Are they ready to endure the hard road ahead? That’s what we’re looking for,’ she said.
Also speaking at the event, Head of Product, Moniepoint, Oluwole Adebiyi asserts the need for product managers to look outward and learn from others. “Instead of staying in your bubble, you can see how other companies are evolving and learn from them. Products are hard to build, you have to figure out the pain point, solve it, and that becomes the beginning of great things,” he said.
On his part, team lead and product demo participant, Anthonio Gabriel, introduced Aveum Markets, a solution developed to reduce post-harvest losses in Nigeria’s perishable goods sector.
