From Blaise Bayuo et al.
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

While Africa is punching below its weight in the international race to develop technology, the continent has the potential to become a startup superpower in the tech sector. Home to an exploding fintech scene and more than half the world’s mobile-money users, Africa is a pioneering space for commercial innovation and the most entrepreneurial continent. Pre-pandemic, 22 per cent of the working-age population had set up their own businesses.

However, cumbersome regulations, the digital-skills gap, limited funding and fragmented markets mean that Africa accounts for just 0.2 per cent of the value of global startups.

Action is being taken, not least to attract more tech-startup funding, which is now growing at a rate six times faster than the global average: in 2021, $4.9 billion was raised, the amount more than tripling in one year. Leaders across the continent are also legislating to improve the business environment. The founding of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2018 means the continent hosts one of the world’s largest free-trade areas, with the power to boost economic output by $29 trillion by 2050.

This is welcome, but more must be done to seize this moment so that Africa is able to fulfil its huge promise: our ten policy recommendations show just how Africa’s leaders and policymakers can transform their continent by putting it on the path to tech excellence.