From Aideen Duffy
FDi Intelligence / Financial Times

Africa has long been cited as the final frontier for global growth and investment, yet reality has often failed to live up to these expectations. Left scarred by colonialism and the resulting volatility and conflict, the continent has historically struggled to turn its huge endowment of human capital and natural resources into stable development. Nonetheless, the continent has shown pockets of tremendous potential, which have proven to be fertile ground for entrepreneurs and start-ups to grow and blossom. 

For its inaugural African Tech Ecosystems of the Future rankings, fDi has teamed up with research company Briter Bridges to map the continent’s nascent tech ecosystems and explore their potential moving forward. The results provide a first look at the lively tech realities developing around Africa’s biggest cities, where talent is finally able to find growing pools of capital to evolve their ideas into successful business ventures. 

Tech start-ups have long been viewed as the preserve of only the richest countries. Indeed, data show that the likes of Silicon Valley, Boston and New York in the US, London and Berlin in Europe and Hong Kong in Asia remain in a league of their own when it comes to catalysing venture capital (VC) investment. However, new waves of tech entrepreneurship are mounting way beyond those powerhouses. While VC investment in Africa still represents a drop in the global investment ocean, the continent, which is the youngest and fastest-urbanising region in the world, is one of the most entrepreneurial regions on the planet. The African Development Bank reported that 22% of Africa’s working-age population are starting businesses — the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world. 

This entrepreneurial spirit is propelling a wave of tech start-ups across the continent, with South Africa and Kenya leading in first and second place respectively in fDi’s African Tech Ecosystems of the Future ranking. The ranking utilised data from fDi Markets and Briter Bridges, in addition to other sources, to highlight the most promising countries for tech start-ups across Africa.