Market-creating innovations develop new growth engines for companies and create entirely new industries upon which economies can build and thrive. They transform complex and expensive products into simple and more affordable products, making them accessible to a whole new segment of people in a society who have not been able to buy a product or service simply because it was not affordable or accessible to them. Market-creating innovators find a way to change that and in the process, create new markets. They represent the best version of capitalism: both consumers and companies win.

“Serious people laughed at me when I told them I wanted to build a telecommunications network in Africa twenty years ago. They told me all the reasons the project would never succeed,” Mo Ibrahim recalls of the reaction he got when he shared his plans to build a pan-African mobile phone company 20 years ago. “Somehow I just kept thinking, I know there are challenges but why can’t they see the opportunity?”

Jonathan Oppenheimer, Executive Chairman of Oppenheimer Generations, announced a partnership with the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance during the fifth biennial Harambeans Rome Forum held at the Vatican in September. Oppenheimer Generations represents the global interests of Nicky and Jonathan Oppenheimer.

The Harambean community gathered at the Vatican in September for its fifth biennial forum to reaffirm its pledge to work together as one to build Africa’s future. The event brought together Harambeans and Guilds, the network of investors, experts and founding partners that make up the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance. The three-day gathering included a blessing for Harambeans in the Vatican Gardens and a thanksgiving dinner at the Pope’s summer residence.

Yoo and de Wysocki reflect on the missed opportunities engendered by the lack of early-stage investments in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and Cisco’s attempts to bridget this gap through its partnership with Harambeans, giving early stage entrepreneurs a chance to succeed.

Irene Pritzker, President and CEO of the IDP Foundation, through a partnership with the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance, has helped African innovators secure more than $8 million from investors to scale their start-up ventures.