Africa has always been known for its resplendent resources, and now it stands to get even richer — with information. Seacom is aiming to connect Africa to the world with its undersea cable networks, supporting high bandwidth internet access.

Synthesizing data from the World Bank, Delta Partners, and more, to estimate the impact Seacom will have on the continent, the New York Times delivered the predictable hard line: as high-speed Internet access increases, economic growth also rises. And with the potential to increase connected users from 2.5 million to 24 million in just 2 years, it’s a big drop in the bucket of 930+ million Africans.

The promising effect that improved Internet access has to offer, is the cross-pollination of ideas between Africa and the outside world.

In his study on Economic Growth, Stanford’s Paul Romer delivers a clear example of the benefits of such an open system by looking at a case study of Taiwan and India. Following its newly gained independence in 1950, India shut itself off as it strived for self-sufficiency, while Taiwan pursued foreign ideas and participated in world markets. The difference? By 1980, India had sunk deep into poverty, while Taiwan had risen up with success and wealth. Through much economic reform that opened it up to foreign investment, India now enjoys a much improved standard of living.

The desire for Africa to link to the rest of world, is certainly not in short supply and native companies like Seacom are successfully capitalizing on the trend by providing the necessary infrastructure. But providing the technical infrastructure, regardless of how advanced, is insufficient to fostering meaningful links and connections inside of Africa and beyond.

There must also be a platform, built on top of the technical infrastructure, that allows people to find, connect, and build relationships with one another.

Kristian Andersen + Associates had the opportunity to assist in the development of such a platform as we worked alongside the visionary founders of Bigger Africa.

Understanding that Africans boast more than natural resources, but also ambitious ideas and business opportunities, KA+A worked with Bigger Africa and their development partner to create an online community that links entrepreneurs with capital and mentorship, facilitates connections between local businesses, provides training and educational resources to its members, and exposes African opportunity and talent to a global audience. By crafting a user experience that connects resources to opportunities, and people to dreams — KA+A helped Bigger Africa to empower people to bring their ideas to life, and ultimately revitalize the continent.

To learn more about KA+A’s work to develop the brand strategy and user experience for Bigger Africa’s community, check out our case study.