Many African cities are quickly emerging as leading startup and investment hubs to watch, according to Ian Lessem, managing partner at HAVAÍC
“Startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa raised a total of US$625mn last year. Of those, Kenyan startups raised US$191mn, the most of any other African country, according to Disrupt Africa’s African Tech Startup Funding Report for 2020. Distinct startup geographies are emerging in Africa, each with the potential to become its own powerhouse,” he said.
In addition, the World Bank predicts that two thirds of the world’s GDP growth will occur in cities over the next 50 years. According to Lessem, Africa’s rapid urbanisation is a welcome development as cities foster greater economic potential, business collaboration and technological innovation needed to leapfrog traditional infrastructure, which can result in creating thriving tech ecosystems.
“HAVAÍC sees southern Africa, dominated by South Africa; Anglophone West Africa, led by Nigeria; Francophone West Africa, dominated by Cote d'Ivore and Senegal; East Africa led by Kenya; and North Africa dominated by Egypt, as key African geographies to pay close attention to. Each are quite different, with some of them tackling more regional challenges and others offering globally scalable solutions,” noted Lessem.
“West African hubs like Lagos have benefitted hugely from locals being skilled abroad and returning home where a young, bourgeoning middle class are open to new fintech propositions as we have seen from the likes of Flutterwave. While in Nairobi, an influx of foreign direct investment and financing from national development finance institutions, coupled with international skills transfers, have contributed to creating a flourishing startup environment,” said Lessem.
