Contents
Written by Brian Hulela
Updated at 20 Jun 2025, 17:38
3 min read
An image by James Wiseman on Unsplash
What drives innovation? Is it collaboration, leadership, education...? We often talk about innovation, but our understanding of what it truly means and how we can achieve it is sometimes limited.
Tradition plays a significant role in shaping who we are and who we become. We cannot ignore how conformity to tradition influences our identity, actions, and way of life.
For most of our lives, we conform to what feels acceptable, what makes us comfortable. Our ideas are largely shaped by our environment.
However, conformity has a downside. By holding on to traditional ways of doing things, we often miss opportunities to innovate and develop cutting edge solutions to our challenges.
It is a double edged sword. On one side, preserving culture is essential. On the other, clinging too tightly to tradition can cause us to miss the train to innovation, preventing us from shaping the future we envision for ourselves.
Throughout history, people have had to challenge what they were told were the rules or traditions. They questioned the status quo, recognizing that change was necessary.
These individuals were dissatisfied with the state of their world and sought transformation. They may not have always achieved exactly what they wanted, but at least they refused to endure a reality they found unacceptable.
Could this be why Africa struggles with innovation?
Our deep rooted connection to tradition has shaped us into who we are today but is this same force holding us back?
Why do we seem to take the backseat in global innovation? We often forget that the freedoms we enjoy today exist because of those who dared to challenge what was supposed to be "tradition" because they had a vision for their homeland. What's stopping us from pushing this vision forward and be on the frontiers of progress?
Rebellion does not mean destruction. It means thinking outside the box, questioning conformity, and seeing the world through the lens of someone eager for progress. We must examine how we conform and ask ourselves whether that conformity truly brings us comfort and purpose.
Not all ideas are worth conforming to, and it is okay to break away from the herd if it leads to growth. We must seek great ideas and believe in their potential to drive innovation, whether they align with tradition or not.
Interrogating how we conform to tradition and how we rebel against ideas that hinder growth are the building blocks of forward thinking. This self examination allows us to understand who we are, who we are not, and who we want to become.
Forward thinking involves exposing ourselves to new ideas that can propel us forward as a continent. We must deepen our self awareness and take intentional action to create the change we want to see in the world.
I envision an Africa that is connected, innovative, and future oriented. There are many barriers preventing us from realizing our full potential and making a global impact. Most of them have to do with how we think about ourselves.
I believe our mindset is the most significant obstacle. We need to critically examine the ideas we conform to, not only how they build our culture but also how they may be limiting us.
Starting with that introspection is the first step toward reclaiming Africa’s potential. There is so much that can be Made in Africa, but we will never see it unless we take deliberate steps to build it.
