NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, July 31, 2017

The African tech scene is thriving, especially in certain parts of the continent, but a couple of tweaks could empower the sector to achieve even more success.

Taking an Uber ride in Nairobi is the norm. Taxi drivers will be the first in Kenya’s capital to tell you that technology is changing the dynamics of business in Africa. “Technology is the norm here,” says one local, “like seeing black skin is the norm.”

Silicon Valley remains the global hub for the tech revolution. But it is finding friendly competition in tech hubs across the African continent. Uber, Venmo, and Amazon are the American middle-class essentials. Uber, Mpesa, and Jumia are the Kenyan middle-class essentials. It is this mirroring effect on life across continents that has developers excited inside of tech hubs from Lagos to Nairobi to Cape Town.

There are currently 300 tech hubs in 93 cities across 42 countries on the African continent. The growing number of tech hubs and developers is drawing significant investment, with more than $366 million invested in startups across Africa in 2016.