9 things we wish African entrepreneurs would invent already

There are times when it seems like there is an app for everything and entrepreneurs would have to reach pretty far to keep building new things. But in Africa, there are many things that need to be invented and problems that need to be solved. As an interested party in the African startup and entrepreneur ecosystem, we obviously have a few things we think need to be built on the continent.

We decided to put together a list of things we wish African entrepreneurs could get going on. Now, some of these may be in the works already or some version of them might actually be in existence. If so, give us a holla.

Carpool app

Too many people have cars in Africa and there are too many urban cities with traffic issues. Instead of everyone driving their cars to work, because the transportation systems in many cities aren’t that great, why not carpool? Plenty of people want to carpool, but often can’t find people in their area that are on the same route as them. Why not build them an app that allows people interested in carpooling to find each other? Okay we just got told there is something similar in the market — have a look (Find a lift).

On-demand coffee

No one in a major city would object to on-demand coffee or tea. Think of it as an added service to already existing coffee chains. Drinkers of coffee or whatever can get a subscription and have coffee delivered to their place of work at a certain time daily. There can also be a once-off component to this. To really spice things up, it can be delivered at an intersection or picked up. No need to wait in line and order.

Free medical advice app

Google really can be the enemy when you are feeling a little under the weather and are convinced you’re dying. So why doesn’t some entrepreneur out there build an app that can also work via USSD that allows people to input their symptoms and doctors respond with accurate medical advice? This is better than the speculation that Googling would ordinarily give you. If Google were to be trusted, I should have died many times now.

Frictionless enterprise solutions

This is for the startups. Most startups need enterprise solutions that cost a lot of money. Sure there are some free ones out there, but the bigger a business grows, the higher the likelihood of having to pay and the more difficult moving platforms becomes. Frictionless enterprise solutions that allow startups the flexibility to do business their way would therefore be pretty helpful.

Smart garden starter kits

Many people would really love to grow their own food, but just don’t know how to start. Most people would also really like a nice garden but also don’t know how to start and can’t afford to get someone in to do it. Why not come up with a starter kit, which will help them begin? Urban farming is really taking off and this kit could provide those interested with the basics to start their own urban farm or garden.

Restaurant waiter buzzers

There is nothing more annoying that waiting 30 minutes after you have received your bill to pay. Waiting in a restaurant is pretty annoying, especially when the restaurant isn’t that busy and the waiter seems to be doing everything in their power to ignore you. Table buzzers can solve that. When you need a waiter, you buzz and someone comes to your table. This can also be extended to keypads on tables so you can place your order quickly and effortlessly.

Water testers: fresh water buoy

In Africa there is a lot of pollution and fresh water streams are often contaminated. So this is a spin on an old idea — fresh water buoys. A buoy is a floating device that can have many purposes and is often used at sea for readings. So why not build one to test the water’s level of contamination, find out if it is safe for human consumption and so forth before people die from Typhoid fever.

Food sharing app

When I was growing up, I was constantly told about starving children somewhere that could benefit from my leftovers. My clever retort was always “fine, send it to them”. Why can’t we do that? An app that allows you to send your leftovers to people in need. You package the leftovers you want to send and the app tells you the closest drop-off place or picks it up and it is delivered the same day to someone who needs it (on reflection, this might work better for stores dealing with food than individuals).

Universal recycling app for major African cities

There aren’t a lot of recycling apps for Africa or sites that actually tell you where to recycle things. Why not build an app that uses your location to give you recycling plants as well as basic tips on recycling and what can be recycled? There are apps that do this but not in Africa. So entrepreneurs, get on the case.