Could Africa be the next big tech hub?
For years there has been skewed perception about Africa and even referring to it as the dark continent.
Africa is so much more than war,diseases and poverty as projected by international media.
Infact big tech companies are looking to Africa as the future
as the continent enjoys a fertile environment for tech entrepreneurs due to its youthful and growing population, rising internet penetration, and the application of emerging technologies that have the potential to improve access to healthcare, financial services, education, and energy.
African tech hubs are on the rise. A joint report by Briter Bridges and AfriLabs identifies 643 tech hubs on the continent arise from 442 in 2018.
A variety of factors make Africa an inhospitable startup environment, as the continent’s business environment is marred by pervasive structural barriers such as:
Low consumer purchasing power
Complex and inconsistent regulations
Inadequate data communications infrastructure
A fragmented marketplace of 54 countries
Scarce capital and digital talent
In addition to these structural barriers, startups face strong competition from large, established national firms and state monopolies.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is a free trade area founded in 2018, with trade commencing as of 1 January 2021. It was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the 55 African Union nations. The main objective behind the AfCFTA is the elimination or reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers amongst the 54 Countries that agreed to be members of the bloc by providing a single market for goods and services, facilitated by movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration and prosperity in the region.
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