African Tech Scene Rakes in $2.9 Billion, Nigerian Startups Dominate

The technology space is growing to become a very necessary one, with the existence of the pandemic and with the rate at which the world is advancing. This is reflected in the revenue gathered, as tech startups in Africa alone made well over $2.9 billion in 2021.

Of the total income brought in by African tech startups, startups owned and managed by Nigerians brought in the most, with a whopping $1.7 billion (amounting to about 60%) of the total amount coming from Nigerian startups which are creating new products, services and platforms.

Africa is giving a very good account of itself in the tech scene, as a recent report by Maxime Bayen’s – a venture capitalist and business consultant – business database Africa report stated that Africa is currently home to seven different tech heavyweights, referred to as unicorns which boats of valuations surpassing $1 billion.

The United States of America has noticed the blossoming tech scene in Nigeria and is now starting to provide support for the fast-growing, lucrative sector. The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard at the 2021 Nigeria Tech Summit announced the intention of the US government to provide sufficient support for the tech scene in Nigeria.

The support to be provided from the United States will ensure that the country’s tech scene continues to grow and provide a favourable environment that will boost a sector which will kickstart more global businesses, create more job opportunities and ensure that the citizens live a more prosperous life.

Of the seven African tech “unicorns”, three are owned by Nigerians. These three are Opay, Flutterwave and Interswitch. Mary Berth Leonard lauded the fact that Nigeria owns three of Africa’s seven heavyweights, and went on to say that Nigeria has the potential to do a lot more in the tech scene but only with the proper support.