Globetrotting Entrepreneurial Insights: Iyin Aboyeji and Akio Tanaka's Global Startup Learnings from Lagos to Tokyo
In a recent discussion at Pitch2Win 2025, leading African startup competition, Iyin Aboyeji and Akio Tanaka shared insights about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for African entrepreneurship, particularly in Nigeria.
Aboyeji, a renowned entrepreneur, emphasised that Africans could fill roles as the "human in the loop" for AI, offering a competitive advantage due to lower labor costs and the capacity to adapt to AI-augmented work. He noted that while AI might displace repetitive jobs globally, this shift could create new opportunities in Africa’s labor market.
Tanaka, on the other hand, viewed AI as ushering in a golden age for startups. He believes that AI enables them to scale faster with less capital, giving founders more equity leverage. He is optimistic about small African startups generating substantial revenues quickly through AI innovations.
The speakers also highlighted the importance of leveraging Japanese expertise and global partnerships to unlock Nigeria's tech potential and expand African startups’ global reach.
AI offers African startups a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional growth barriers by combining human labor and automation. The potential for Africans to become the "human in the loop" for AI could provide a significant competitive global advantage in labor costs.
However, the shift towards AI threatens specific job categories but simultaneously elevates entrepreneurship and manual skilled trades. As AI handles repetitive tasks, humans can focus on creative and strategic aspects of work.
Aboyeji argued that many Lagos-based companies and founders operate under the belief that everything must be built by Nigerians for the Nigerian market, which can stifle creativity and innovation, making it difficult for companies to scale beyond national borders. He believes that a lack of diverse perspectives in startups can be detrimental, as it can hinder the ability to build globally competitive products and services.
To tackle this issue, Aboyeji's Itana is building free zones to attract global talent to Lagos. He also emphasised the need for Lagos to attract a diverse, international workforce to remain relevant in the next 5 years. He noted that bureaucratic and infrastructural challenges deter many foreign professionals from coming to Lagos, with the visa process being expensive and unclear, and the city's real estate market needing significant improvement.
On a related note, Moonshot by our website is back in Lagos on October 15-16, featuring Africa's top founders, creatives, and tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers, and future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets are available with a 20% discount.
In summary, AI presents a significant opportunity for African startups to scale, innovate, and compete globally. By leveraging AI, startups can build bigger companies faster with less capital, meaning they won't need to give up as much equity to investors. However, it is crucial to consider the impact of AI on job markets and to foster a vibrant, diverse startup ecosystem to build globally competitive products and services.
- The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for African entrepreneurship, especially in Nigeria, continues to be a topic of interest.
- Iyin Aboyeji believes Africans can serve as the "human in the loop" for AI, offering a competitive advantage due to lower labor costs.
- While AI might displace repetitive jobs globally, it could create new opportunities in Africa’s labor market.
- Akio Tanaka views AI as ushering in a golden age for startups, allowing them to scale faster with less capital.
- Tanaka is optimistic about small African startups generating substantial revenues quickly through AI innovations.
- The speakers emphasized the importance of leveraging Japanese expertise and global partnerships.
- AI provides African startups with an opportunity to leapfrog traditional growth barriers by combining human labor and automation.
- The "human in the loop" role for AI could provide a significant competitive global advantage in labor costs.
- The shift towards AI threatens specific job categories but elevates entrepreneurship and manual skilled trades.
- As AI handles repetitive tasks, humans can focus on creative and strategic aspects of work.
- Aboyeji argued that the mindset of everything being built by Nigerians for the Nigerian market can stifle creativity and innovation.
- A lack of diverse perspectives in startups can hinder the ability to build globally competitive products and services.
- Aboyeji's Itana is building free zones to attract global talent to Lagos.
- He also highlighted the need for Lagos to attract a diverse, international workforce to remain relevant.
- Bureaucratic and infrastructural challenges deter many foreign professionals from coming to Lagos.
- The visa process can be expensive and unclear, and the city's real estate market needs significant improvement.
- On October 15-16, Moonshot will feature Africa's top founders, creatives, and tech leaders in Lagos.
- Early bird tickets for Moonshot are available with a 20% discount.
- African startups can build bigger companies faster with less capital through AI.
- Startups won't need to give up as much equity to investors with AI's potential for scaling.
- It's crucial to consider the impact of AI on job markets.
- AI-augmented work requires humans to adapt and new skills.
- Venture capital teams must identify startups capitalizing on AI's potential.
- Artificial intelligence is reshaping the finance industry, particularly in payments and personal finance.
- AI is streamlining investment processes, making them more efficient and accessible.
- In the fashion-and-beauty industry, AI is being used to predict trends and customer preferences.
- AI is also playing a role in the food-and-drink sector, revolutionizing cooking through personalized recipes and smart appliances.
- In the realm of education-and-self-development, AI is aiding in personal growth, mindfulness, and lifelong learning opportunities.
- AI is being used for sports analysis, helping athletes enhance their performance and coaches make data-driven decisions.
- AI-driven technology has influenced sports-betting, providing players with real-time data and predictive analytics.
- AI is impacting the travel industry, offering online education, cultural travel, budget-travel, and sports-related travel experiences.
