At a recent European startup conference, Africa was once again spotlighted as the next frontier for innovation and investment. The enthusiasm was clear; Africa’s growing population, expanding middle class, and rising levels of education are all promising signals for setting up businesses.

But this isn’t a new wave, it’s the fourth time such excitement has risen around Africa’s startup ecosystem. And just like the previous waves, this momentum could fade if key lessons aren’t learned and assumptions aren’t challenged.

Africa isn’t a repeat of Asia or the West

Africa is often wrongly framed as “Asia 20 years ago” or “the West in the ’90s.” In reality, the continent is a distinct and diverse ecosystem with unique market dynamics, cultures, and development paths. The rhythm of economic growth varies across and even within countries, often in ways that defy traditional investor logic.

Africa doesn’t need to follow another region’s playbook it needs its own.

The overlooked talent gap

Across the continent, most exposure to large-scale businesses has come from government-owned corporations or foreign multinationals. In many cases, senior roles were held by expatriates until recently. As a result, there is a limited pool of experienced, local leadership talent with the skills to manage fast-scaling ventures.

This structural gap more than lack of capital is a key reason the Silicon Valley-style business model has not taken root in Africa.

Why unicorn thinking falls short

Venture capital in Africa cannot be just capital. It must be localised, long-term, and deeply integrated with the ecosystems it aims to support. The typical “winner-takes-all” and “scale-at-any-cost” approaches rarely succeed here because they fail to consider the realities of talent pipelines, infrastructure, and market absorption.

Despite good intentions, governments, investors, and ecosystem builders have often failed to meet entrepreneurs, partners, and consumers where they actually are.

Time for a new model

Instead of chasing unicorns, perhaps Africa needs a network model of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) working collaboratively within shared platforms.

These would be hybrid models part franchise, part cooperative, part gig-platform. Not only are these more familiar in form and function across many African contexts, but they also offer scalable, sustainable pathways to growth that reflect local realities rather than imported ideologies.

This approach isn’t romanticising micro-enterprises, it’s about designing systems that work.

Introducing the “coopreneur” approach

A promising alternative is a new kind of support organisation something between a venture studio and a cooperative accelerator. This structure would:

• Develop the technology, frameworks, and processes.

• Recruit and train an initial cohort of entrepreneurs.

• Provide long-term operational and market support.

This “coopreneur” model can democratise entrepreneurship, enabling inclusive economic growth while still ensuring scale through networks.

But the question remains:
Do we have the talent to build this model in Africa?
Will funders, governments, and philanthropists be bold enough to back it?

This article is inspired by reflections from Johnni Kjelsgaard, a long-time ecosystem builder and founder of GrowthAfrica, based on his years of experience working with African entrepreneurs and international investors.