Why Not in Africa? · 2050
Why not in Africa? Join the movement
Why not in Africa?WN 2025
FromHome
→
ToAnywhere
TicketOne-way
ReasonNo choice
StatusLeaving
PassengerYoung African
Seat—
Today

Every year, a ticket out.

For too many young Africans, the future starts with leaving.

The exit

Our brightest leave. Too few return.

They study, work and build economies elsewhere.

The other route

Others never get a seat.

7,900

people died or disappeared on migration routes worldwide in 2025.

Source: IOM Missing Migrants Project, reported Feb 2026 · Africanews

What we saw abroad

The sharing economy.

Someone has a room, a car or a skill. Someone needs it. An app connects them, with trust, a location and a payment.

So we ask

Why not in Africa?

The talent is here. The phones are here.

Why it's not here yet

Talent isn't missing. Five pillars are.

Home-sharing and ride-hailing platforms don't really sell rooms or rides. They sell confidence between strangers. That confidence stands on five pillars, and when one is missing the whole model falls, however good the app. Tap a pillar to see why.

TRUSTADDRESSESPAYMENTSDIGITAL IDINTERNET SHARING ECONOMY TALENT · PHONES · DEMAND

All five stand: strangers trust, find and pay each other, and the market grows.

Our mission

Three things, all in the open.

We study the sharing economy, we explain it one industry at a time, and we build a real product in front of everyone. Each part feeds the others.

01

Knowledge. We study the sharing economy, scientifically.

The sharing economy is not magic. It works where certain conditions are met and fails where they are not. We want to know exactly which conditions, country by country, using data and sources rather than opinions.

  1. Observe

    We study how platforms for homes, rides, deliveries and freelance work operate in Europe, North America, China and India: who uses them, how people earn from them, and which rules and infrastructure they rely on.

  2. Compare

    We look at African countries that are already catching up, where mobile money, digital ID or addressing projects are moving fast, and at what they did differently.

  3. Measure the gap

    For each country we look at the five pillars (trust, addresses, payments, digital ID and internet) and show precisely what is missing, with sources anyone can check.

  4. Propose

    For every gap we propose concrete approaches: technology, partnerships or policy. Everything is published openly so that entrepreneurs, investors and governments can use it.

What you get: articles and videos that explain each finding in plain words, and an in-depth newsletter with the full analysis and its sources.

02

Case studies. Every four months, one industry, from A to Z.

Each season we choose one sharing-economy industry (for example short-stay rentals, ride-hailing, food delivery or freelancing) and spend four months on it, so that anyone, expert or not, understands it completely.

The central question: why do companies worth billions of dollars on other continents struggle to reach big numbers in Africa, and why are some of them forced to leave certain countries? We answer it pillar by pillar, with facts.

Formats: short videos every week, one long-form episode each month, and a full season report in the newsletter.

Example seasonShort-stay rentals
Month 1How it works

The business model in simple terms: who pays, who earns, what the platform does and how it makes money.

Month 2Who wins elsewhere

How hosts, drivers and freelancers in Europe, America and Asia earn a living from it, and how big these markets have become.

Month 3Why it stalls here

Why the global leaders struggle to grow in Africa, and sometimes leave a country, analysed pillar by pillar.

Month 4What it would take

What an African version needs to succeed and who could build it. Then we pick the next industry.

03

Building in public. WNA Stays, a travel app built in the open.

We don't just analyse, we build, and we show every step: decisions, costs, mistakes and numbers. The first product is a travel app, because a visit is where trust in Africa starts.

It is made for the diaspora coming home, and for investors and founders who want to build sharing-economy businesses and need to see the ground first: a place to stay that meets the standards they know from Europe, America or China, a safe way to get around, people to show them the city and its story, and someone to explain how business really works here. Working name: WNA Stays.

Our vision
2050
  1. No young African dies trying to leave.
  2. We go abroad only if we want,
  3. to learn what other cultures have to offer,
  4. and we come home to build.
  5. A new Africa, where young talent is valued and earns a living.
Your return ticket

Destination: Africa 2050.

A new Africa where young talent is valued and earns a living with the sharing economy. Every ticket is a return: wherever you live today, you can help build it. There are three tickets. Read them, then choose yours.

Why not in Africa?Gate 1
Founder.
FromYour city
→
ToAfrica 2050
PassengerYour name
TicketReturn
ClassFounder
BoardingOpen

Destination: a new Africa where young talent is valued and earns a living with the sharing economy.

IdeaFeasibilityNext steps
Seat1A
Ticket 1 of 3 · Founder

You have an idea. Let's find out if it can work here.

You want to start a sharing-economy business in Africa, or bring one you know from abroad, but you're not sure it can work: the market, the pillars it needs, the rules, the costs. Choose this ticket and we'll look at your idea with you, honestly: what already exists, which of the five pillars your idea depends on, what is missing in the country you're targeting, and what a realistic first step looks like.

  • A first conversation to understand your idea
  • An honest assessment, pillar by pillar
  • Concrete next steps and people to talk to
Why not in Africa?Gate 2
Ambassador.
FromYour city
→
ToAfrica 2050
PassengerYour name
TicketReturn
ClassAmbassador
BoardingOpen

Destination: a new Africa where young talent is valued and earns a living with the sharing economy.

AbroadAt homeVolunteer
Seat2A
Ticket 2 of 3 · Ambassador

You believe in it. Carry the message where you are.

Ambassadors are volunteers who share the vision in their own circles, from Paris, Toronto or Dubai as much as from Lagos, Nairobi or Dakar. You share our content, talk about it at your school, at work or in your community, organise small meetups, and tell us what people around you think. You don't need to be an expert, only convinced.

  • Early access to our videos and analyses
  • A starter kit: slides, visuals and talking points
  • A network of ambassadors on several continents
Why not in Africa?Gate 3
Builder.
FromYour city
→
ToAfrica 2050
PassengerYour name
TicketReturn
ClassBuilder
BoardingOpen

Destination: a new Africa where young talent is valued and earns a living with the sharing economy.

EngineerDesignMarketingEconomics
Seat3A
Ticket 3 of 3 · Builder

You build things. Build this with us.

For young talents who have tried to build software, are building it now, or are great engineers, designers, marketers or economists, on the continent or abroad. Builders work with us on real projects, starting with WNA Stays, in the open: you learn, you show your work publicly, and you help prove that world-class products can be built in Africa, for Africa.

  • Real projects, built in public
  • Mentoring and peer reviews
  • Visibility for your work and your name

Stay on board.

Newsletter

The sharing economy in Africa, in depth.

Every two weeks. Sources included.

Follow the build