Decolonising Afropreneurship
There is no doubt that colonisation was the beginning of the resource and societal exploitation that led to Africa’s regression. Now the continent has reached the point of post-colonial rebuilding and seeks to become a competitive force on the world stage. However progress is still hindered by the resident effects of past times on its people and land. History may be in the past, but as cultural history has shown, it has a tendency of repeating itself.
A look to the world leaders on the other side of the Atlantic today is a clear indication of how historical behaviour and ideology can creep in and pull society into an environment thought to have been eradicated. As evidence we can reference the current resurgence of white supremacy and a call to “Make America great again” during the last USA elections. This is an example of a manifestation of European colonial descendants seeking to re-establish colonial ways of living. The net effect is the oppression of those deemed “other” or non-European. It is long forgotten that America first belonged to a thriving population of Indigenous peoples, not those who obtained it through colonisation. If we do not know our past, we cannot make effective decisions for a different future that will lead to innovation and prosperity.
Definition
Colonisation is defined as the attainment of a territory, usually by force, with a movement of a population and an extension of political power of the colonising body into the new territory (“the territory”).
Key to this concept is the emigration of a foreign population into the territory and the enforcement of foreign political, social, and cultural ideologies on the land and its indigenous people.
This also means that the indigenous voice is suppressed, and cultural ways of living may be lost. Decades of colonisation limited the education of indigenous Africans to the colonising framework. This is specific to Africa, but also generalisable to many other colonised territories such as the Americas and Asia. And it is still true today: The education system in African schools and institutions of higher learning model those of Europe and the “West”. Africans are not educated in frameworks that include considerations of Afro-cultural and Afro-historic understandings of Science, Engineering, Business, Humanities, Social Sciences and other fields. Therefore, when indigenous Africans seek entrepreneurial advancement and success, their ideologies and cultural business understanding is what has been fed to them by the developed world. They are often not equipped with “indigenous” knowledge – the very knowledge that might make them more successful on the African continent.
So what now?
Decolonisation of entrepreneurship strategies for Africa are a necessity. That is if we are to move forward on a sustainable trajectory of empowering indigenous African leaders and business people. In other words, the economical culture developed by colonial rule needs to be broken down and rebuilt. We need to inculcate a new framework based on African created knowledge and an emphasis on strong collaboration between business leaders and the local African communities. The lens through which we view Africa and the potential opportunities it has to offer in investments and advancement, needs to be constructed by Africans, and for Africans. Information gathering, knowledge translation, and knowledge mobilisation must be intentional for the benefit of its people.[efn_note]Boahen, A. Adu. African Perspectives on Colonialism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1985. Print. Dixon, C. and Heffernan, M.J. Colonialism and Development in the Contemporary World. New York: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1991. Print. Keller, A.G. Colonization. Boston: The Athenaeum Press, 1908. [/efn_note]
