An ongoing journey for Farah Brunache…
Farah Brunache is an entrepreneur and tech developer with a passion for working on Pan-African initiatives.
She is the Founder of African Tech News, which she runs in addition to other startups which are all interconnected.
Born in the US to Haitian parents, Farah is no stranger to the diaspora community, especially the African diaspora. She has been in the startup space since 2014 after working with the US federal government for a while.
Farah started African Tech News (ATN) to create a platform that connects experts across Africa and the diaspora in sharing local perspectives to discover the latest within the tech space. Through dialogue and storytelling, ATN brings increased awareness to tech people of African descent who are not being talked about with the aim of changing the narrative.
Having experience in the space, Farah understands that each startup eco system is different in every geographical region however, there generally seems to be a singular narrative which puts the spotlight consistently on certain founders; sometimes alluding that they may be the only ones making an impact in the industry.
This is mainly because they would typically have media announcements for instance after raising funds – which is not a bad thing; except that businesses without fundraising announcements are equally as impactful. Also, only certain types of businesses or tech founders are funded; leaving an inaccurate impression about who is active in the tech ecosystem, what merits a discussion or which problems entrepreneurs and the public should be concerned about.
“We need to start something to keep the gears turning, in order to
put all individuals of African descent at the forefront of our narrative – whether on or off the continent”
Farah Brunache
This is why Farah is of the view that focusing on the African continent and diaspora, there are tons of people adding value to the tech space who should not be overlooked but rather engaged and celebrated to inspire them to bigger heights. “The narrative needs to be changed in the tech industry, a space filled with unlimited opportunities”, she says.
Secondly, Farah hopes to achieve an increase in deal flow between Africans in the tech space with African Tech News, as capital flow is an important element in the industry. According to her, “I am hoping that in the next 10 years or so, African Tech News and the two other initiatives I am working on is going to break stereotypes and one-sidedness against Africans and people of African descent. This way, we can invest more in products and services in order to keep the monies in our communities. At the end of the day, I am specifically looking for that long term value which drives the narrative and makes several years of impact to have a cultural shift. This way, we will really understand that we already have everything we need, to start investing in ourselves – instead of seeking for aid from other countries.”
For Farah, the future of the tech space is bright and she is pretty excited to see a lot of Pan-African applications that are bridging the gap in areas such as payment. She continues to have conversations with people in the industry from the African community and has plans of visiting the continent more in the coming years.
In terms of growth of the continent, she thinks that taking out barriers that hinder communication and easy travel between countries within Africa are pressing issues that needs to be solved.
Farah is a fitness enthusiast and loves weight lifting when she finds the time. She is also an illustrator and intends practicing more in the near future.
Connect with Farah on Twitter and visit African Tech News’ website to learn more about her initiatives.
By: Theresa R. Fianko
Additional Information from: Farah Brunache
Image Attribution: Farah Brunache
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