Leading Tech Ecosystems in Africa, and Where They Stand

Africa’s tech-ecosystem hit a dry patch last year, some of its unicorns had their uniqueness tested, and venture capitalists clammed up a little. So what?

It’s not all over yet.

The reason being that all that contraction never really took the guts out of the continent’s ecosystem, especially the Big Four’s. It’s a good thing VCs still have more interest in the abilities of the nerds bubbling on the continent. A report claims 60 percent of the funders still eyeball Africa.

And talk of the Big Four—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya also retain their appetites to gulp up more.

How do they stand in terms of vibrancy?

Nigeria remains the most vibrant—with  four of the six unicorns in Africa in its kitty. The country also tops the chart in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa leads the pack south of the continent. Egypt remains the gatekeeper to the Middle East. And Kenya, with its mobile transaction dominance, rules the east.

As numbers go, Startup Blinks, Crunchbase and others have the figures of startups rocking each of the tech ecosystems on the continent.

Sample

Nigeria—694 startups, with Lagos cornering 508 startups; Abuja, 72; Ibadan 17; Port Harcourt, 14; and elsewhere.

South Africa—510 startups in all, spread across Johannesburg, 187; Pretoria, 59; and Cape Town, 264.

Cairo—434, representing over 90 percent of Egypt’s tech ecosystem.

Nairobi—339.

Accra in Ghana boasts of 127 startups. That puts it behind the four, and ahead of other hubs most analysts refer to as being in their infancy.

Algeria–145

Morocco–20 plus