A report has noted that Africa’s technology sector will record a significant exponential growth, estimated at $712 billion by 2050. According to the report, it disclosed Africa’s digital economy is approaching its S-curve, a period of rapid significant growth that will positively impact the continent’s GDP, job creation, and overall economic outlook.
It has been predicted that by 2050, Africa will be a home to third of the world’s youngest people, as the continent is more rapidly organized than other regions. Analysts have disclosed that the covid-19 pandemic was a driving force to digitization on the African continent, as more Africans have become engaged in digital activities.
This has no doubt paid off as there have been some remarkable start-ups and other tech infrastructures established in the region, which has seen the influx of investors.
Between January 2020 and December 2021, funding for African digital start-ups grew 2 times faster than global rates. The African tech ecosystem witnessed massive attention from top global players that saw the continent receive massive venture capital.
Few sources revealed that an estimated $2 billion went into African tech start-ups in 2019. The continent also witnessed high-profile visits from Jack Ma, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Dorsey. The African continent has been poised to be the next digital growth frontier.
The region has a burgeoning tech-savvy youth population that is openly embracing technology. While the continent continues to record groundbreaking achievements in its tech ecosystem, reports disclosed that the region has not even barely scratched the surface. Awesome!
It is also interesting to know that the African region is now home to seven (7) unicorns doing exceptionally well, namely; Jumia, Andela, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Opay, Chippercash, and Wave. In 2021 it was disclosed that African start-ups raised $605million, which was nearly half of the total amount of funds raised in 2020, with Fintech technology companies receiving the lion’s share of the total funding.
From every indication and prediction, the tech ecosystem in Africa is only going to get bigger and bigger due to the rate at which more start-up companies are established. Although internet penetration is still very low in the region, with just 40% of Africans having access to the internet, the region continues to defy all odds by still achieving some groundbreaking achievements in the tech ecosystem.
Gone are the days when people would mention thriving tech ecosystems in the world and fail to mention the African region. The African tech ecosystem has no doubt taken off and continues to receive massive recognition from tech top players as well as funding from investors.
Over the last few years, investors as well as venture capitalists have put their radar on the African region which has seen a lot of African start-ups receive massive funding. The rise of the African tech ecosystem has no doubt been noticed by significant top players in the industry who are keeping tabs on the latest developments.
Recall that the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai last year (2021), announced that the search engine company would invest $50 million in African start-ups, and would be funding $1billion in technology led initiatives in the continent over the next five years.
It is indeed a feeling of ecstasy that the African region has been recognised for its outstanding tech ecosystem, and also the negative narrative and perception about the continent has been changed into a positive one.
