Building the extraordinary: How opportunity unleashes Africa’s genius

Introduction

Africa stands at a pivotal moment in its history. Across the continent, millions of young people brim with talent, ideas, courage and hope. Yet those gifts are often stifled by constraints, including inadequate infrastructure, limited access to capital, weak institutions, and external misperceptions. The belief I advance in this essay is simple yet profound: Africans can build inspiring and extraordinary things given the opportunity. We do not lack the capacity — we sometimes lack the chance. Drawing lessons from Elon Musk’s way of thinking and acting, we can glean principles that resonate with Africa’s transformation.

“If Africans, like the rest of the world, are given opportunities and if we match those opportunities with vision, first-principles thinking, resilience, institutional support and regional scale then the capacity to deliver inspiring, extraordinary things is very real.”

“If Africans — like the rest of the world — are given opportunities, they are capable of building inspiring, extraordinary things.” – Lere Baale.

Core background

Elon Musk’s story reveals several key patterns: a bold vision, technical literacy, first-principles thinking, steadfast resilience, and prioritising mission over mere profit. For example, Musk has said, “I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy.” This means not simply doing what others do or mimicking current models but breaking down a problem to its fundamental truths and rebuilding from there. Musk achieved this by founding his aerospace venture, analysing raw materials and discovering that “you could build a rocket at far lower cost” than conventional wisdom suggested.

For Africa, the challenge is clear: our systems often operate by analogy (copying what others have done) rather than by first principles (identifying what our context truly demands and building from that truth). But the potential is enormous: scope, resources, humanity, spirit.

Detailed principles

Let us outline several principles derived from Musk’s orientation and demonstrate how these principles apply to Africa’s context and how Africans can leverage them to build extraordinary things.

1. Vision without constraint:

Musk refuses to accept limits on what is possible (“going to Mars”, “electrifying transportation”, “solar energy everywhere”, etc.). The lesson: let the vision of Africa’s builders not be constrained by external low expectations or colonial legacies. Suppose an African engineer, entrepreneur, or policymaker sets a vision that the continent can lead in clean energy, artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and infrastructure innovation. In that case, that vision invites the extraordinary.

Action: Encourage audacious goals — e.g., Nigeria is not just importing medicines but manufacturing world-class generics; Africa is not just a mining source but a hub of tech innovation.

2. First-principles thinking over analogical thinking:

Musk explained that most people reason by analogy (“we do it this way because others did it”). But he instead asks, “What are the raw materials?” What are the fundamentals? What is the cost base? How can one redesign the system?

Africa’s advantage: Many systems are not yet locked in. That means there is freedom to rethink. For example, instead of simply copying the pharmaceutical supply chain of the West, African actors can redesign local supply chains, African disease burden realities, regional distribution models, and digital health platforms.

Action: At policy and enterprise levels, ask what this industry’s bedrock is in Africa. What assumptions are we inheriting unquestioned? How can we redesign a solution rather than replicate it?

Read also: Elon Musk’s xAI acquires X in $33 billion deal

3. Build from the ground up and scale deliberately:

Musk’s ventures often begin from scratch, with a focus on fundamentals, and then scale. This lesson applies to Africa: start with solid foundational capability (skills, infrastructure, institutional robustness), then grow.

Action: Invest in foundational skills (STEM, entrepreneurship, logistics), strengthen regulatory and operational capabilities, and then scale enterprises regionally and globally.

4. Resilience, iteration and long-term perspective:

Extraordinary things are rarely built overnight. Musk has had failures, delays, and setbacks but sticks to the mission. Africa’s builders must adopt a long-term mindset, accept iteration, adapt to failures, and persist.

Action: Design programmes and enterprises with sustained funding, realistic timelines, room for learning, and failure tolerance.

5. Opportunity must be paired with empowerment and institutional enabling:

Musk’s story also highlights the importance of enabling structures, including access to talent, investment, and supportive regulation. For Africa, the message is clear: giving opportunity means more than opening a door — it means empowering through education, infrastructure, financing, and regulatory clarity. Without these, even the most talented Africans are hindered from delivering extraordinary outcomes.

Action: Governments, the private sector, and civil society must create ecosystems where opportunity meets capability, such as scholarships, innovation hubs, regional markets, harmonised regulation, and infrastructure (digital, logistics, and energy).

Stories with reflections

Let me share two illustrative reflections:

Story A – The young tech entrepreneur in Lagos

Imagine a young Nigerian woman named Amina, who develops a low-cost, solar-powered cold chain for rural pharmacies. She studied engineering, partnered with a local university, prototyped the device using local materials, borrowed first-principles thinking to reduce costs, and scaled across West Africa. With the proper enabling infrastructure (financing, regulatory approval, and market access), she built a business that serves the healthcare industry, creates jobs, builds a value chain through local manufacturing, and exports.

Reflection: Her success rests on a vision (reimagining cold chains in Africa), first-principles cost-down thinking, local manufacturing, and regional scaling. She exemplifies how Africans can achieve inspiring and extraordinary things if given the opportunity.

Story B – A regional pharmaceutical distribution centre in East Africa

Consider a regional distribution hub in East Africa that was architected not simply by copying Western models but by redesigning for the African context: combining solar-powered warehouses, digital inventory management, distribution drones to remote clinics, and stakeholder partnerships. The centre becomes a hub of regional health security, supply chain innovation, and job growth.

Reflection: This hub employs a first-principles redesign (cold chain + solar + drones), a bold vision (regional health security), enabling infrastructure (digital, logistics), and scale (regional, cross-border). Africans orchestrated the solution for Africa.

Action points

Here are action points for African leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators, and young people:

For policymakers and governments:

• Develop regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, rather than merely replicating outdated models.

• Invest in foundation infrastructure (digital connectivity, logistics, energy) that empowers enterprises to build.

• Promote regional markets and cooperation (Africa must think continentally, not just nationally).

For business and enterprise leaders:

• Adopt first-principles thinking: challenge assumptions, break down problems into fundamentals, and innovate.

• Set audacious visions; do not be limited by current players’ actions.

• Build strong local ecosystems, supply chains, and talent pools.

For educators and youth:

• Learn to think innovatively: cultivate curiosity, not just compliance.

• Seek to bridge disciplines (engineering + health + logistics, e.g.).

• Embrace persistence and iteration: failure is part of building extraordinary outcomes.

For the continent at large (civil society, diaspora, investors):

• Recognise that Africans are not merely recipients of opportunities; we are co-creators.

• Channel investment into African-led innovation, rather than merely replicating foreign models.

• Celebrate the success stories of African buildings so that a culture of extraordinary becomes normative.

Conclusion

If Africans, like the rest of the world, are given opportunities — and if we match those opportunities with vision, first-principles thinking, resilience, institutional support and regional scale — then the capacity to deliver inspiring, extraordinary things is very real. The story of Elon Musk offers us instructive lessons: break the mould, think from fundamentals, build boldly, and persist. But Africa must adapt those lessons to its own context — its history, resources, people, and urgent needs.

Let us embrace the conviction that the extraordinary is possible — not as an exception but as an expectation. Let us mobilise our energies, our institutions, our markets, and our spirit so that Africa not only participates in the future but shapes it. The opportunities are ours. The capabilities are ours. The world is watching.

Prof. Lere Baale, DBA, MBA, BPharm: President & Chairman, Governing Council – Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy; CEO – Business School Netherlands International (Nigeria).

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date