The burning desire to change Africa for the better and produce goods and services on par with developed countries is a key driver of innovation in Africa, but more support is needed to enable entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into products, says smartphone application development company Cipher256 business development lead Joshua Okello.

Okello is an entrepreneur who helped to develop a foetal heart rate monitoring application for smartphones, which uses their microphones to record the sound of the heartbeat in the pinard horn resonance tube used by midwives for more than 100 years.

The application provides an accurate and reliable means of monitoring the health of the unborn child, and is more affordable than devices like the foetal Doppler and ultrasound scan.

“All the midwives were excited about the application and feedback from them using our application is that they want us to include a system of reminders for mothers to remember their appointments,” says Okello.

The foetal heartbeat application was at first part of a larger application that was changed to three complementary applications, including an application that sends weekly information and updates about pregnancy, health and diet to expectant mothers, based on their stage of pregnancy, even over feature phones.

However, despite the overwhelming support and positive feedback Okello and his team received from midwives and healthcare workers, he notes that there is little to no support to develop the ideas from proof to product.

“Everyone wants an end product, but there is scant support where it is needed most to enable innovations and developments to occur in Africa.

“My advice to governments and companies aiming to improve African developments is to hurry up. Only by supporting the development of African products and by allowing them a chance to prove their value can we hope to create our own sustainable products,” he emphasises.

Okello advocates a semidecentralised support system in Africa, including physical spaces, as well as electronic collaboration and networking platforms, for innovators and entrepreneurs and especially young people.

“I became an entrepreneur because I believed that if products can be made in the US, China and the UK, then I must be able to do it in Africa. Secondly, networks of practical individuals provided a way of assessing my own ideas and getting advice on how to proceed to commercial- isation.

“Thirdly, persistence is crucial. Entrepreneurs must hang in there and must be practical because it is not an easy journey. “Finally, entrepreneurs must consider sacri-ficing immediate reward for future reward. Selling a concept garners some money, but developing and commercialising the product can lead to the formation of a company and, in some cases, potentially even a new industry,” he advises.

There is a lot of raw talent in Africa that is untapped, but many young people give up at some point during the arduous journey of development.

“Entrepreneurs and innovators need not only support, but also understanding, which is some-thing I learned firsthand,” concludes Okello.