The landscape of global innovation is shifting at an unprecedented pace, and recent trends at Tekedia Capital highlight a critical divergence. Our latest cohort of 18 companies, invested in just three months ago, is demonstrating the fastest revenue growth we’ve ever observed, surpassing even the strong performance of our October 2024 class. This earlier class included a remarkable company that achieved a $10 million Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) within four months of its inception and is now on track for $100 million within its first year, having recently secured $36 million in funding.
This data leads to a stark conclusion: the innovation gap between developing and developed nations is not merely present, but rapidly widening to an asymmetrical degree. The defining characteristic of leading companies today is “AI-nativity.” These are not just firms using artificial intelligence, but rather businesses fundamentally built upon AI, regardless of their industry. For instance, the most successful insurance companies of tomorrow will likely be AI companies that happen to offer insurance products, not traditional insurance firms merely integrating AI. Similarly, a premier online tutor like ChatGPT isn’t an edtech company that uses AI; it’s an AI company providing educational services.
When we contrast these emerging, AI-native enterprises with many African startups, a troubling pattern emerges. The gap in the pace of innovation and the value delivered to users is expanding. There’s a tangible risk that many African Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies could face overnight disintermediation.
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This observation is not an alarmist prediction, but a conclusion drawn from reviewing the financials of dozens of companies across five continents in Tekedia Capital. In this rapidly accelerating era of AI, many African startups are struggling to keep pace, and a significant portion of our SaaS companies could potentially disappear by 2027. Urgent action is required. We must fundamentally rethink our approach to building businesses to ensure Africa can compete and win in this new global landscape. I have called the landscape the accelerated society era and we must find our level there productively.
The Accelerated Society: A New Era of Disruption and Integration
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