The first part of our story:
At Positive Sum Africa, we love podcasts, especially business-related ones such as Invest Like the Best, Acquired, Founders, and Art of Investing. When we are not listening to these, we switch to the Knowledge Project, whose apt tagline (in part) is “Master the best of what other people have already figured out.” Over time, as we explored these podcasts, none of which is Africa-based, we couldn't help but wonder: (1) Are there no innovators and entrepreneurs in Africa whose lives and work can inspire others? And (2) Can we take on the role of showcasing these remarkable stories?
The second part of our story:
We believe business is one of the best tools to use to bring meaningful change. In 2021, for example, about 466 million people were employed in Africa. These 466 million are, in turn, heads of families and communities and indirectly employ millions more in the informal sector. When they go home, these employees, and their employees, transfer either their work-induced stress or happiness to their families, creating a vicious or pleasant environment that extends to the next generations. On the other end of the scale, businesses need to flourish to sustain both their staff and their operating ecosystem.
We seek to play a part in building a better Africa by working with and supporting innovators and entrepreneurs on the continent. While it takes significant courage and skills to create, found, or run an initiative of any scale, we gravitate towards ventures with two characteristics: (1) they are established by people doing their life’s work and (2) they ultimately lead to positive sum outcomes for all those involved.
What is life’s work?
Our definition of life’s work comes from that provided by Patrick OShaughnessy: A lifelong quest to build something for others that expresses who you are. We break this description into four parts - (i) you are an individual/ group with a long-term view regarding what you are working on, (ii) your work is in service to others in a way that makes their lives better, (iii) you are immersed in a field you love in a way that makes your work an expression of who you are, and (iv) you possess the kind of backbone required to ride through adversities. We believe that these components are a necessary premise to the second characteristic we look for in businesses/ organizations/ individuals with whom we partner.
Positive sum outcomes.
In Game theory, there are three categories of outcomes: negative-, positive-, or zero-sum, which, respectively, denote win-lose, win-win, and lose-lose situations. Of interest to us are positive-sum, or win-win, outcomes, in which “the sum of winnings and losses is greater than zero.” This result is possible in an environment set up in a way that everyone gets what they want or in which the size of the proverbial pie is enlarged.
These two factors create another set of principles on which we base our work, particularly, how we assess those with whom we partner: (1) The set of methods, procedures, rules, or tactics that we and our partners employ in pursuit of our objectives should benefit all players involved, including tomorrow, and (2) If you are a for-profit business, you should demonstrate, whether in actuality or in terms of potential, an ability to generate consistent and generous profits to stakeholders.
In practice, we look at measures such as investment in people, customer loyalty, and business model <> product fit.
What we seek to do:
Our vision is to build a hub for Africa’s innovators doing their life’s work. We achieve this dream through two approaches:
First, by collaborating with aligned innovators and entrepreneurs to build and bring their products or services to market. Practically, this means that, on the one hand, we work together with businesses and initiatives to identify and address gaps in product or service development. On the other hand, we also work with our partners to craft and execute their market positioning and go-to-market strategies, exercises which involve, for example, defining their target markets and core marketing messages.
Second, by storytelling with Africa’s entrepreneurs and innovators. We seek to tell the stories of such individuals who, regardless of their industry or age or experience, have perspectives and histories that can act as blueprints for others.
By building a bridge between innovation and storytelling, we seek to not only collaborate with Africa’s visionaries but also to amplify their stories. By doing so, we hope to elevate and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators who, through their life’s work, contribute to positive-sum outcomes, ultimately shaping a better future for Africa and beyond.
Join us on this exciting journey of building, storytelling, and fostering meaningful change through the life's work of Africa's innovators and entrepreneurs.
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