In this piece, I postulated that Chinese technology companies which are under severe attacks at home would begin to explore Africa for growth. With the American market extremely hard to break into, and India a no-go area (yes, the government banned some of the apps), Africa is the remaining core natural destination.
Just as predicted, it is happening. Didi, the Uber-for-China, is launching in Nigeria. Expect it to give heat to Uber, Bolt and the local players in this sector. Didi will not be alone. Pinduoduo, Alibaba and others which are listed in New York are coming.
People, if you have a really huge customer base in Africa, expect big knocks at the door; China tech will like to come in to ensure that New York is not rattled as it loses steam in the home nation.
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But note one thing: these paralyses would not be the end. Yes, these companies would work hard to find ways to grow so that they can keep trading in foreign stock markets where they currently trade. Alibaba has been wounded in China due to the clampdown, and the US investors are certainly not happy. So Alibaba needs to find ways to mitigate this domino. Simply, I expect it to look for more markets and territories to enter.
Africa seems to be a good destination. Do not be surprised if Alibaba decides to acquire Jumia in the next coming months to pacify investors in the US that it is looking beyond China for its future. I also see opportunities for leading promising startups in the continent. Chinese firms will need to pick many pieces from many countries, and then combine them for a continental impact.
But Africa, do not sell cheap and remember this – the largest financial institution in Nigeria by market cap is now OPay which was last valued at $2 billion after Softbank invested $400 million, meaning that China tech is a master of blitzscaling. People, it’s time to upgrade the gameplan or another chance may not come.
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Do we even have a playbook in this part of the world? Once we smell money, the sense goes.
Other regions would like to protect their local market and entrepreneurs, but we easily equate paper money with power here, not knowing that they are never equal.
We can give the Chinese a piece, but it’s not a good idea allowing their big guys to enter this space freely or buy off the ones we are trying to nurture; slavery has taken a new dimension. Those who think they are free are already owned.