Patrick Awuah writes:
More here...it helps to understand that most Africans are still educated in the traditional African system: taught not to ask questions, to copy down everything the teacher says or writes, then memorize it, word for word. All too often, African high school teachers still coach their students to cheat on national standardized exams. Africa needs more of these young men and women to make the challenging transition to become successful innovators and entrepreneurs, solving problems and creating jobs. For that to happen, they’ll need more than up-to-date skills in computer science or finance.
image courtesy of WEF
Courage is the underpinning of ethics, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It empowers people to take risks, overcome obstacles, and speak truth to power. One young Ashesi graduate, David Darkwa, described how he found himself, just a few years out of college, leading a team to develop West Africa’s first cardless ATM service. He had advocated for the project, but the company had become skeptical, and his team was whittled down from seven to three people. David drew on a technique from his Ashesi University projects: quickly deploy a potential solution, fail early, then iterate. Being willing to fail is counter to African culture, which emphasizes saving face, but it’s a necessary part of creating a genuinely new solution.
