Samir Abdelkrim, founder of Emerging Valley, the next edition of which will take place on November 27 and 28, pointed out that "the African tech ecosystem is characterized by remarkable diversification". He cites the booming fintech, digital health and agritech sectors as examples. According to the latest Disrupt Africa report, the number of fintech companies on the continent has risen to 678, up 17.7% compared to 2021. Gems from twenty-five countries.
The agritech sector has seen a 250% jump in 2022. "According to venture capital fund AgFunder, $482.3 million has been raised by startups in the sector," explains the author of Startup Lions, at the heart of African Tech. "Companies with international reputations such as Twiga Food, a mobile platform that connects suppliers and small grocers in Africa's urban markets, illustrate this dynamic.”
Finally, in healthcare, the application of new technologies to this vital sector has been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes Ilara Health, a Kenyan start-up that aims to improve access to medical diagnostics in underserved areas, and the venture capital fund of the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P Venture), which has invested in Zuri Health.
“Emergence of new generation of African entrepreneurs, driven by a spirit of innovation and a desire to respond to the specific challenges of the continent”
"This movement is part of a broader wave of emergence of a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driven by a spirit of innovation and a desire to respond to specific challenges of the continent," argues Samir Abdelkrim.
This technological dynamism is largely driven by the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). "The progress of AI on the continent is impressive, especially in precision agriculture and healthcare. The latter market is estimated by the Global Health Care Outlook 2020 to be worth $234.5 billion in 2023," explains the founder of Emerging Valley. He adds: "The years 2022-2023 represent a major turning point in the field of AI, with the launch of the Google for Startups Accelerator in seventeen African countries: AI First program, the creation of the African Observatory for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in South Africa, or the digital education goals announced by many countries such as Nigeria or Benin. "
Despite the innovation, African tech is facing a decline in funding. According to the newsletter "Africa: The Big Deal, the value of funding raised by African startups has fallen from $6.5 billion between June 2022 and July 2021 to $4.1 billion between July 2022 and June 2023. In fact, "the capital raised in the first quarter of 2023 on the African venture capital (VC) market fell by 52.4%, painfully exceeding one billion dollars, according to Disrupt Africa," confirms Samir Abdelkrim. So far sheltered, in 2023 Africa has suffered from the venture capital crisis linked to the rise in the prime rate affecting the United States. Several companies, including the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), have gone bankrupt, de facto reducing the financing of African companies.
However, this wintering period will be short-lived, according to specialists. "We are in a necessary correction phase" explained Christophe Viarnaud, founder of AfricArena, to the newspaper La Tribune last June. "Moreover, the use of debt to finance assets is continuously increasing. All these elements indicate that we are moving in the right direction," he added. After the (speculative) bubble, comes the good weather.
