Tech comes to the forefront in Africa
Priya Wadhwa
Tech
Published:

Tech comes to the forefront in Africa

African tech startups are gaining the world’s attention.

A popular pan-African e-commerce website, Jumia, recently listed on the NYSE. This is just the beginning of Africa’s booming tech scene.

The continent is one of the fasted growing tech markets in the world. Just look at its year-on-year volumes of VC expansion, startup formation and tech hubs.

Africa has 442 active tech hubs, accelerations, and incubators.
GSMA

The continent with 54 countries and 1.2 billion people might be tiny compared to Silicon Valley’s monetary value; but VCs are moving on from the oldest, dare we say, over-hyped tech region anyway. And Africa is getting the attention due.

Blue-chip tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft have already invested money and support to the continent’s growing tech scene. So have sovereigns and international agencies, such as aid from the World Bank and France’s $76 million African tech fund.

If you’re a startup or a VC in London, Singapore, San Fransico or Dubai, you might invariably have heard of Africa’s growing tech scene. Tunisia has recently been in the news for InstaDeep having raised $7 million. In the coming years, it is highly likely that we’ll see many more startups from the second largest continent in the world.

Deep dive into Africa’s tech scene here.