According to a research titled African Tech Ecosystem of the Future 2021/2022 Ranking, Nigeria boasts the most tech companies, with many of them working in the fintech industry, but the country falls short on other measures.
fDi Intelligence, a specialised subsidiary of the Financial Times, collaborated with research firm Briter Bridges to produce this analysis.
New waves of tech entrepreneurship are sweeping the globe, well beyond the usual hotbeds of Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York in the United States, London, and elsewhere.
Africa, for example, is becoming the world’s fastest-urbanizing continent while also being one of the world’s most enterprising.
According to African Development Bank reports, 22% of Africa’s working-age population is starting firms, making it the world’s highest rate of entrepreneurship.
Top African countries in the future tech ecosystem
South Africa came out on top, taking first position not just overall, but also in the categories of Economic Potential, Start-Up Status, and Business Friendliness. South Africa, which is home to Naspers, one of the world’s major IT investors, has the second-highest number of start-ups behind Nigeria.
Kenya came in second place overall and in terms of economic potential. According to Briter Bridges, the country boasts the most coding schools on the continent, indicating a strong degree of investment and interest in the country’s IT environment.
Kenya is also home to M-Pesa, the continent’s most well-known fintech, which is a mobile banking sensation.
Nigeria had the highest number of start-ups of any country, with many of them operating in the fintech industry, taking advantage of the country’s lack of banking facilities. Although Lagos is known for its startup environment, there is a considerable divide between the city’s tech environment, its environs, and the rest of the country, which has chronically poor infrastructure and education, as well as frequent political instability and security difficulties. Nigeria is unable to perform in any category of the fDi Tech Ecosystems of the Future rating due to its difficult environment. Nigeria was top in terms of the number of startups, but it came in sixth in terms of total rankings.
17 African countries were examined in all. Countries with more than 50 startups, over $500,000 in investments in 2019 and 2020, and more than 9 tech clusters were considered.