Hello there, I’m Bukunmi Oyedapo.
I specialize in digital fabrication, where I provide support services to woodwork businesses, and design and construction firms in Nigeria. With a background in architecture, I find it easy to plug into a lot of processes and solutions.
This month I’m holding the fort for Chuma, who’ll be back in June.
In case you missed it, here’s last month’s newsletter.
A Couple Things First
- Business models for digital fabrication
When I started digital fabrication, I soon realized that I needed to build parts of my machinery because the cost of importation was too high. Apart from building CNC machinery, I’ve also built a mortiser out of mostly wood and an edge banding trimmer. It’s required me to learn a lot of electromechanical skills that don’t come with an architecture degree.
What I’ve come to realize though, is that from a business perspective rendering turnkey design services and running a flatpack product line are more sustainable than trying to build bespoke furniture. With this realization, my niche tools form some kind of competitive advantage for my products.
I think that’s still the only sustainable business model for anyone interested in offering digital fabrication services on the continent. It’s unlikely that you have enough business offering 3D printing or laser cutting services on their own. Folks like Webber Engineering evolved into manufacturing basketball rims as their primary earner. With the right approach, you could possible get some external funding for that product. - Power’s missing middle
I love to follow up on energy developments, anywhere from high efficiency internal combustion engines to renewables to battery technologies to geothermal power.
In recent years, there have been some interesting things happen on the continent. Fimer and Enie are setting up an inverter factory in Algeria to cater to the MENA region, but would impact prices of those systems continent-wide.
Perhaps the most significant use of solar power on the continent has been in agriculture. Solar pumps and batteries, usually paired with some kind of microfinance scheme is improving access to electricity and higher yields particularly in East Africa. I think there’s a middle ground that’s underserved by solar power, where the power required is more than small panels can supply but the small and medium scale businesses who need the power do not have the profit margins to comfortably afford them.
Things I Enjoyed Reading
Some recent good news is the change in legislation on power generation and transmission in Nigeria. It is absolutely ridiculous that government controlled the generation and distribution of power to a large degree until recently; under the new legislation state governments (and maybe individuals) now have the ability to generate and distribute power, thereby opening up the field to competition and modular power generation. I’m looking forward to the impact that will have overall on the power sector.
On a more general note, this article in the American Affairs journal discusses the problem with global development. In their own words, the authors note that “despite attempts to find alternative models of economic development, there is no widely replicable strategy to develop a country—simply put, to turn it from poor to rich—that does not involve an economy becoming highly industrialized.” It’s a fairly long article, but well-written.
Interesting (Furniture) Things
Heph Design is a brand that makes original multi-material pieces. [Nigeria]
Josh Egesi makes products that combine traditional games with furniture. [Nigeria]
Zeetin Engineering is a precision fabrication shop specializing in heavy duty machinery. [Nigeria]
Things To Apply For
The Baobab Network is receiving applications from early-stage startups on the continent. Their program combines funding and mentorship for founders.
Deadline: Rolling.
The Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is receiving applications for their Kenya competition.
Deadline: May 2023.
Company Spotlight
In Malawi, Wood Be Nice is woodworking small business that specializes in architectural and product design. Their focus on building their own machines while serving clients as well as selling their own designs is the kind of multi-pronged approach that wood fabrication businesses on the continent need to adopt.
Have a good month,
Bukunmi.
NB: If you’d like to keep up with my work, ask me a question or just say hello, you can find me on Instagram.
This month’s Community Chat has Prince Banini as our guest. He’s an Embedded Systems Developer, and currently a Technical Fellow for Waziup eV - a long range IOT platform built on the LoRa network. In addition, he produces electronics tutorials via the DIY Delali YouTube channel. Join us!