From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
The title picture this weekend is of the Peters’ Globe (℅ Graphic). The ‘normal’ globe inflates the sizes of regions as they move further from the equator. Since much of the developing world lies near the equator, these countries appear smaller and less significant. On Peters' globe, areas of equal size on the globe are also equally sized on the map - so poorer, less powerful nations are now restored to their rightful proportions. GO AFRICA!
Much like many of the school atlases produced in England:
Page 1: all to itself - England;
Page 2: the UK;
Page 3: the Continents;
Page 4: The World.
…as a child the size (one whole page!) and importance of England was clear for all to see!
Impressions on the young stay with them throughout their lives… Our views are ‘guided’ by others and by our experiences as ‘Nurture’ plays a huge part in how we approach and see the world. According to the UK’s Financial Times: “When statisticians decided to track how well African countries were doing in moving towards their 2030 UN sustainable development goals, they discovered a curious thing: no one had the faintest idea.”
In fairness, the SDG’s are not easy to quantify and according to a report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African states simply don’t know enough about their own people. The report adds: “On average fewer than 40% of the indicators for the SDGs have sufficient data to track progress accurately on the continent…over half of the data source types on SDG indicators on Africa are estimation, modelling or global monitoring. Without accurate and complete vital statistics, it is impossible to implement effective solutions to any development challenge and to deliver for citizens.”
Mo Ibrahim, adds: “Data is an essential foundation for effective policymaking and resource mobilisation. Without data, we drive blind – policies are misdirected and progress on the road to development is stunted. We must all act urgently to close the ‘data gap’, if indeed we aim to leave no one behind.”
Does this mean we are currently winging it and just going on our experiences or ‘gut feel’? As with Atlases and Globes this can obviously be influenced.
One of the main concerns for all of us at the Lioness Head Office, or as we call it, ‘The Den’, is this lack of data, lack of information, lack of research. So when we have statistics or ‘truths’ thrown at us, we instantly reach for our data checker and more often than not with Africa, we come up with so many grey areas or ‘unknowns’.
In a world where data is ever more important, where companies that corner data become overnight ‘Unicorns’ worth US$Billions, at ‘The Den’ we are driven by the tragic realization that until there is more research on and within Africa and in particular in our essential area of African Female Entrepreneurship, there will always be a good excuse for many to concentrate on other Continents where data is readily available or to continue the belief that to invest in male owned and run businesses is the best way forward. No investor goes into a deal blind, yet as Mo Ibrahim states, without data, without decent research, we are all driving blind, so what do we expect?
But is research and data and information really that important? Why can’t we simply continue to ‘wing’ it? The problem is that to continue as before with this ‘laissez faire’ attitude also means that we are happy to continue things as normal, which clearly relies far too much on assumptions and we naturally revert to form, which given the data we see, means (amongst other things) investing in men.
But is that fair? Instead of complaining, why don’t we do something about it? One of the ‘facts’ we are always told is that ‘Women do not invest in other women’, but is this actually true? We know that according to TC in 2019, less than 3% of all VC investment went to women-led companies, and only one-fifth of U.S. VC went to startups with at least one woman on the founder team. But women investing in women? Gut feel suggests on those numbers they are not, but given our Globe and Atlas issues above, what is ‘Gut’? And importantly, what is behind these statistics?
"Our research showed that it is not that women make a conscious decision to not invest financially; instead it is something they simply haven't considered. So nine out of ten women [have not considered investing]," according to Anna Lane (here).
Given that, perhaps we simply need to push women to consider investing in other women’s businesses to start the ball rolling!!
Things are certainly changing and where there is data we can see this…
According to Ellevest, data shows that 65% of all charitable donations made last year in the US were by women. They may be smaller amounts than those by men, but as we all know powerful things do come in small packages.
Data and Research are essential so that we can shine a light on the results, to see where there are problems and to work on solutions.
This shining of a light is absolutely essential. History has shown us that when information is made available, things change.
The HoF drew us back to the question of research, saying: “This is why we, at Lionesses of Africa, with our large and inspirational membership should be in the vanguard of African research.” As the FT said: “Africans need to start demanding more… More data won’t fix that by itself. But if governments know…exactly what is going on, they have less excuse to ignore it.”
This is also true of organisations that wish to invest and build in and with Africa. Data alone is obviously not the answer, but greater research is the route towards a larger understanding of what is required, what needs to be done and indeed how African business and especially Lionesses can be supported by finance or supply chain deals, to have the ability to grow sustainably and with a solid base, whilst not investing blindly on ‘gut feel’ that may have been historically influenced.
How are we doing so far:
As can be seen there are far too many grey areas and always in Africa.
“Data…forms the backbone of decision-making and accountability, but too many people are left out of the data, and too much of the data is outdated or incomplete.” (data4sdgs.org).
That is why far more ‘western’ companies are now creating their own data, their own research in an effort to fast-track the understanding of this incredible and massive continent, many of whom work with us (and through us, our Universities such as Harvard and NYU). In Africa, the young age, the expected population growth, the ever increasing middle class and of course the massive number of female entrepreneurs that we have within our >1.1 million inspirational membership creates a serious opportunity, but only if one has a light with which to see the path.
As the FT said: “At [the] Financial Times Africa Summit in London (Lioness Weekender), Mr Bawumia (Ghana’s V-P) said of their drive to keep tabs [through increased research] on its citizenry: “No one can hide.”
He would have been better advised to say…” and to echo Mo Ibrahim:
No one will be left behind.
Lionesses of Africa is leading the way, getting ready to launch our latest survey on the impact of women entrepreneurs on job creation across South Africa. It is through Data, through Information and through Research that the world will hear Lionesses Roar and just like with the Peters’ Globe, there will be a realization that we are larger and more influential in jobs, trade and community than anyone has previously ever recognised and most importantly, we cannot be ignored or dare we say it, left behind.
Stay safe.