Closely following the Big 4 of Africa – South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt, Ghana & Tunisia are slowly emerging to be the next big ecosystems in Africa.
Let’s look at these two new star countries and how they are stacking up in the tech startup ecosystem in the continent.
Read about the Big 4 of Africa
Ghana
With a GDP of $74.26 billion US dollars in 2022, Ghana is the second-largest economy in West Africa and the eighth largest economies in Africa. With 47 deals over $100k for a total of nearly $400m (estimating PEG Africa’s acquisition by Bboxx at $200m) in 2022, Ghana ranked #5 at the continent level in terms of funding raised in 2022.
What worked in favor of Ghana?
- Continued political stability
- Liberal business environment
- Internet penetration
Also working in favor of Ghana is that the tech ecosystem is mostly shaped by Ghanaians, which ensures strong local “branding” and “grounding”. The tech hubs that have offices outside the major cities are cited as one of the main factors counteracting rural-urban migration by providing the digital skills and knowledge base to make a living in the community.
With major international companies such as Google AI and Twitter having their base of African headquarters in Ghana, has opened the gates for startups from around the world to look at this promising country.
The 10 most funded startups in Ghana have raised a total of $110m of the $117m (94%) that startups in Ghana have raised overall in 29 deals which is an average of $11m per startup.
Here’s what the startup funding ecosystem in 2022 looked like Ghana:
- The most funded sector by a number of startups in the top 10 is agriculture that is represented by 3 startups (Esoko, AgroCenta, and Moringa Connect), but they represent just $5m (4.5%) of the $110m total.
- The most funded sectors by the amount of money invested are Energy and Resources( 2 startups, $58m) and Healthcare and Pharma (2 startups, $44m).
- CDC Group invested in 2 startups and is the only investor to do so.
Tunisia
2022 was the year of Tunisia. According to StartupBlink, the country obtained 0.55
points in the startup ecosystem index. Tunisia ended 2022 with 822 labeled startups.
What worked in favor of Tunisia?
The local government’s initiative for “student-entrepreneur” status has encouraged students to work on their innovative ideas and develop an entrepreneurial mindset earlier than other people on the continent would. The “student-entrepreneur” status is a part of the digital transformation program of the GIZ, a federal enterprise mandated by the German government to support different countries.
Tunisia has also established itself as a digital tech hub as a result of the Tunisian Startup Act, an innovative and legal framework launched by the Tunisian government to assist local
entrepreneurs who choose to invest in the country. Tunisia is the first African nation to enact a Startup Act. The Tunisian Startup Act is a great example of collaboration between civil society, the private sector, and the government. The startup ecosystem in Tunisia has grown significantly through support from the government
The growth of Tunisia’s startup ecosystem can be attributed to the launch of the country’s first digital innovation hub, The DOT in June 2021.
Here’s what the startup funding ecosystem 2022 looked like Tunisia:
The most significant news in the startup scene from Tunisia is the artificial intelligence company Instadeep being acquired by BioNTech through a deal worth about £562m (US$685.9m).
However, Tunisia’s startup ecosystem is still in its early stages. Despite the deep innovation potential, an active startup community, and access to European markets, Tunisia lacks funding. The country looks forward to leveraging its Startup Act and stable political system to attract more foreign investments in the coming years and give the much-needed boost to its startup ecosystem.
