Madagascar is an island rich in raw materials, biodiversity, … and human resources with a great diversity of talents. The Great Island has all assets in hands to recover its place as the pearl of the Indian Ocean. However, some heavy baggage (ie 75% of the population living below the poverty line, a political situation known for its instability, a high dropout rate from school) has prevented its take-off for decades.
Many of these elements may not be in our control, but if there is one which we could certainly develop and promote, it is our human resources. Madagascar abounds with talent and is not afraid of innovation. In 2018, a Malagasy startup, Alpha Project, an event startup specializing in gaming and e-sport, was in the Top 5 of the Startup Africa competition event, amongst other shining examples. We do have talent, a Malagasy talent that once sharpened could pave our way out of the list of the world’s poorest countries.
With the right structures and framework, the many entrepreneurs in our island could help revive our economy. A functioning ecosystem creates jobs, increases purchasing power, but above all, it brings resolution to a problem. Indeed, good ideas find their sources in the hassles of everyday life. In developing countries where there is a lot left to do, supporting the creation of startups could well be one of the keys that will lead to a promising economic growth.
Thus, support structures are an essential component to enable startups to thrive. There are incubators that support very young companies from the ideation phase to the product-to-market launch. Accelerators help companies grow and develop their markets. There are also startup competition events which are real opportunities to gain visibility, but also attract funding and especially benefit from the opinion of professionals in respective sectors or industries. Another form of support structure increasingly widespread in Madagascar’s main city, Antananarivo, is co-working spaces which allow everyone to have access to office premises at a lower cost. We will give you more details on these different actors in our next blog.
Stay tuned.