Joseph-Albert Kuuire, Tech Nova
We caught up with Joseph-Albert Kuuire, Founder and Editor of Tech Nova who shared his love for spotlighting events in technology, writing about Microsoft and Apple products in his early days of journalism. This then took a turn once he decided to pivot into spotlighting the unique startups in Ghana, leading to where he is today.
What led you into journalism, and what would you be doing if you weren’t a journalist?
I got into journalism because I love spotlighting events in technology. I used to write about Microsoft and Apple products when I was a student in the US. When I got back to Ghana, I took a break but start writing again when I noticed that not enough spotlight wasn’t be given to some of the unique startups and products in Ghana. I love that I’m able to craft a story with details on what’s happening in our part of that world with the hope that it inform future generations about how some of these companies got their start.
If I wasn’t into journalism, I would probably put my energy in UX Design and Market research which is a space I feel needs more attention.
When you’re researching stories, what compels you to work on sharing a particular story with your audience? Any hot trends we should look out for in the coming months?
When researching a story, I usually look through different news outlets to see what that current trends are. I observe what’s happening in the US, Asia and Europe and other countries to see what is being built in tech to solve problems and see if there is anything similar in the Africa space. Sometimes it’s also through personal observation on the ground.
Currently the hot trend is Artificial Intelligence. With many people souring on Bitcoin, Web3 and cryptocurrency, AI is the next big thing so I think we’ll be seeing more discussions and stories about AI on the continent and perhaps even see more venture capital investment in that space. So you should expect more stories in that direction.
The world needs to pay attention because the next set of unicorns and billionaires are set to come out of the continent with unique solutions thanks to technology.
Why is African business so unique and what makes it so exciting to report on?
They’re unique because they’re trying to solve problems with fewer resources compared to their Western counterparts. Sometimes the business environment is not as friendly especially with government regulation and there’s not much local capital for businesses to scale and build. So it’s interesting to see businesses build and sell unique products to consumers which are helping to solve problems. It’s exciting to see companies do more with less when they build unique products for their consumers and get more backstory on how they built it.
Which sectors or industries do you like to cover most and why?
Fintech is always an interesting sector to cover. It seems more and more companies want to become fintechs these days. It’s an interesting industry because there are so many unique solutions out there from: buy now pay later, purchase of stocks, remittance apps, insurtech etc
Although it seems the market is getting saturated, there are always niches that companies are trying to dominate so there’s always news to cover.
Africans need to be able to control their own narrative. Writing their own stories give them the power to do so.
Why is it important that people around the world get to hear about young, growing companies on the continent?
It’s important because Africa is in a unique position. We’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to growth and tech. We’re the youngest population in the world and more people are coming online thanks to internet penetration and mobile devices. The world needs to pay attention because the next set of unicorns and billionaires are set to come out of the continent with unique solutions thanks to technology.
How can we encourage more people to join the writing community and dedicate their energy to telling stories about African tech and business?
We need more people to dedicate more energy to telling stories about African tech and businesses because if we don’t, someone else will do it for us.
We need to be the ones that give that first-person account on what’s happening in or space. We know so much history about Apple, Microsoft and other major companies but we don’t place that same energy in African companies and what they’re trying to achieve.
Thankfully, we have various online tools to tell our stories. We can use blogging and social media platforms to write and record videos about what happens behind the scenes and gain insights to what Africa tech businesses are doing.
By writing more stories, we get to create that archive or timeline of what’s happening on the continent. Eventually those stories can be turned into books, movies or TV shows for the next generation to consume, so they can learn about the challenges, the ups, downs and the people behind some of the companies which are currently emerging.
I think the businesses themselves can also be their own storytellers and control the narrative about what they’re building.
It may be cliche but the idiom that says “until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero” is very on point.
Africans need to be able to control their own narrative. Writing their own stories give them the power to do so.
