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Startups in Africa’s three leading tech entrepreneurship markets South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya had some of the biggest funding in 2016, like the year before. But this year, funding, as recorded by Disrupt Africa, was down by 30.5% to $129 million from $185.7 million in 2015.
South Africa was down 14.6% to $46.8 million, Nigeria dipped 6% to $46.5 million while Kenya’s startup funding took quite a plunge by 78% to $10.5 million. Last year’s numbers for Kenya were skewed by M-Kopa’s $31 million funding.
There is a positive way to look at the numbers though. At 146, more African startups were funded in 2016 than in 2015.
The other piece of good news was that North Africa was making a comeback. After years of political turmoil, funding for start-ups is slowly reviving in countries like Egypt and Morocco. Fundraising for Egyptian start-ups jumped 105% to $9.7 million, compared to $4.7 million last year. It was the largest increase of any country that had more than five startups secure investment for the year. Egypt had eight startups funded according to Disrupt Africa.
Ultimately, African startups will need more grass root support both from customers and investors. And the expansion in the focus and ambitions of local and African diaspora angel investors by organizations like African Business Angel Network (ABAN) is a promising sign of what’s possible.
Anecdotally, you can see from the press releases and announcements that come through that much of the later stage funding for the tech ecosystem on the continent comes from outside. Names like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Omidyar Investments and others are backing many of the later stage stars of Africa’s startup scene.
This kind of financial and international-standard validation is a very good thing, up to a point. The role of local angels is vital for backing the kinds of early stage ideas that come to fruition when the entrepreneur and the angel investor speak the same language. We don’t mean a local language, but the same market language, where both parties understand the local problems better than can be expected of an outside investor.
That’s a vital step in finding more African solutions for African problems.
Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
The ex-convict who will be a political kingmaker at Nigeria’s next elections. After four years in a British prison, James Ibori, a former governor in the oil-rich Delta state, was released last month. But in the murky waters of Nigerian politics, Ibori might achieve a surprising political resurgence as a presidential kingmaker ahead of the 2019 elections, writes Eromo Egbejule.
Cameroon shut down the internet in its English-speaking regions. Cameroon shut down the internet in the northwest and southwest regions, following protests against the dominance of French-language use in the bilingual country. Emerging details show the internet outage was put into effect by pressuring mobile operators.
How to use your phone to learn programming. Most people in the developing world have limited access to desktop computers. In contrast, many of them own mobile phones and use them for different services. Chao Charity, a professor of computer science at Kenya Methodist University, developed a technique for computer science students at most universities in Africa to develop and practice their programming skills
Kenya’s striking doctors and the ailing labor system. For over seven weeks, medical practitioners in Kenya have been on strike, demanding a rise in salaries. The strike has put a strain on the healthcare industry, leading to the loss of revenue, human lives and, as Abdi Latif Dahir notes, encourages more doctors to move abroad.
What Africa really thinks about South Africa. South Africa has always carried the vaunted image of being the gateway to Africa, a rich country with economic and political influence. But what are the perceptions of the country’s role on the continent? Maxi Schoeman, Asnake Kefale and Chris Alden found feelings of betrayal and paternalism.
South Africa’s literary icon still hidden by apartheid’s cultural ban. Peter Abrahams’ name was mentioned in the same breath as South African literary icons, yet his death has gone almost unnoticed in his native land. Abrahams chronicled life under apartheid, but his novels were banned under the old system, and remain unknown to a new generation, writes Lynsey Chutel.
CHART OF THE WEEK
What do you do with a debt problem like Mozambique’s? When your national debt is on track to hit 100% of your 2017 GDP, how on earth do you fix the problem? This is the crux of the challenge Mozambique faces. It could argue the billion-dollar debt was illegal in the first place or just blame the lenders for poor due diligence. It could.
Message from our partner
Please join us at Georgetown University’s second Africa Business Conference: A Time for Ownership, hosted by the McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service, in partnership with the Corporate Council on Africa, and the Initiative for Global Development. Through panels ranging from private equity and power to entertainment and technology, we will explore the growth and impact of the private sector across Africa.
Other Things We Liked
Documenting Nigeria’s brain drain. A documentary Naija Beta by Arthur Musah documents the conditions under which Nigerian students work to get to study in prestigious schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As Noah Tsika writes in Africa is a Country, the film reveals the tension between the young Nigerians eager to flee their country, and Americans of color who made it to these schools, only to become disillusioned by its perceived superiority.
Sudanese Jews recall long-lost world with nostalgia. Sudan’s Jews once made up the smallest Jewish community in the Middle East. Forced to flee to Israel in the sixties, the remnants of that community still retain fond memories of the country they once called home, writes Isma’il Kushkush in the Associated Press.
America’s damning verdict on former assassinated leader. The legacy of Nigeria’s military ruler Murtala Muhammed is as a fearless leader who doggedly fought corruption in the seven months until his assassination in Feb 1976. But as Ini Ekott writes in Premium Times, new declassified US diplomatic documents show Americans thought of him as “corrupt and vindictive.”
Keep an eye on
Cairo International Book Fair 2017. (Jan. 26-Feb. 10) The book fair is the oldest and largest in the Arab world, and has in the past drawn over a million visitors.
Africa and the G20 Conference (Feb. 1). South Africa’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to open the high-level conference which will take place in Johannesburg. The conference seeks to discuss plans to boost African economies by financing development programs and creating investment opportunities.
NexTech Africa Conference (2–3 Feb.) The NexTech Africa conference, which aims to build technology services that better support African inventors and entrepreneurs, will be held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, access to a Kenyan doctor and Peter Abrahams’ books, to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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