Interview: Springboard CEO Kingsley J Ify on Sustainable African-Nordic Business Partnerships
Co-founder and CEO of Kingsley J Ify at the African-Nordic Springboard Business Conference 2018.
The annual Springboard conference was founded to enable smoother investment and stronger partnerships between entrepreneurs and key business players in Africa and the Nordics. Ambitious.Africa Media caught up with co-founder and CEO Kingsley J Ify about this year’s virtual event and why co-creation and sustainability should be at the center of every business interaction.
Springboard business conference, founded in 2015, matches the individual needs of business players in both the Nordics and Africa through industry-specific events held throughout the year. These lead up to the main conference bringing together entrepreneurs, businesses and investors across different industries in a fun and meaningful way. Founders Kingsley J and Suvi Ify wanted to bridge Nordic and African business culture to ensure Nordic actors get a smooth entry into the African market. This requires understanding for people and their customs. Springboard 2020 will take place on September 17th, live streamed from Kämp Hotel in Helsinki, Finland. Ambitious.Africa will be there.
Ambitious.Africa: Kingsley, why are co-creation and sustainability this year’s themes at Springboard?
Springboard Conference 2018.
Kingsley J Ify: As African in Finland, I’ve noticed the word sustainability gets thrown around a lot without people thinking about what it really means. Sustainability in the business context means utilising all the available tools to create social change, whether in Finland or in Africa. When Nordic entrepreneurs go to Africa, they need to make sure they bring true value. This means connecting with the people already working on the same problems in Africa. We connect Nordic entrepreneurs seeking to solve meaningful problems to the African players so that everybody is on board and can add value to whatever they want to achieve. This is what creates the win-win situations.
We shouldn’t neglect the cultural aspect when doing business. It makes sense to get people involved who have some pre-understanding of the cultural perspective - not just the business ecosystem. Miscommunication can lead to big mistakes. Now that I have lived in Finland for a long time, I understand the values and what make most sense for Finnish businesses and entrepreneurs. I am passionate about communicating these cultural nuances to people who have a different way of looking at life. I want to help others take it into consideration when doing business. Communication is key. It’s what makes co-creation possible.
Springboard Conference 2018.
Springboard Conference 2018.
Ambitious.Africa: How does Springboard help the communication between Nordic and African business actors?
Kingsley J Ify: We help Nordic entrepreneurs with whatever is necessary to help them run their project on the ground - whether it’s entry-market research or helping them understand cultural differences. In Finland, the communication flow through email is taken very seriously. In different parts of Africa, it can be completely different. If you don’t understand the people, the risk for misinterpretation is high.
The events are a marketing platform where different entrepreneurs, businesses and investors come to meet each other. When actors agree on a concrete way forward in terms of partnering or if they have a business idea that they want to work on, Springboard comes in to help with whatever is needed to actualise their business goals.
Springboard Conference 2018.
Ambitious.Africa: Why is it important for Nordic companies to invest in Africa?
Kingsley J Ify: The population in Africa is growing in an unprecedented way. There is high unemployment amongst youth. The last thing Africa needs is more colonial manipulation. I have seen that ethics is a strong value in the business world in Finland. I believe business engagement between the Nordics and Africa will bring about a win-win situation. Having lived in other parts of Europe, such as the UK, I have seen that trust is not found everywhere. In my experience Finnish people are trustworthy. This is valuable.
We want to show Nordic entrepreneurs, companies and investors what the opportunities in Africa are and help them access them. We want to connect Nordic companies with well-functioning African businesses to create new partnerships. This year we have also invited panelists who can take us through the effect of the pandemic on the business world. This will help us better understand the overall situation in Africa post-COVID and explore new ways of engaging.
CEO Kingsley J Ify with participants at the Springboard Business Conference in 2018.
Ambitious.Africa: What are you most excited about when partnering with us?
Kingsley J Ify: With Ambitious.Africa’s help we are excited to go into areas we haven’t looked at before. We are looking forward to finding more young Africans eager to bring new ideas to life. Springboard will help Ambitious.Africa leverage the networks and intelligence across Africa and understand the different ways of thinking. I’m happy we will get to work together because it will raise more interest towards Africa. Now we don’t have to do it by ourselves.
Young people’s energy is different and that’s the kind of energy we need. Springboard and Ambitious.Africa have a good synergy to explore new ways of working across cultures and make actionable projects happen together. Hopefully we will be able to leverage each other’s strengths and move forward from there. I believe that combining our understanding and energy can only be positive.
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