Recent Research from the GSMA – Tech hubs and Mobile Penetration in Africa

According to a joint report by the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA) Ecosystem Accelerator and Briter Bridges, the number of tech hubs in Africa grew by 40% over the last year,. The report identifies a ‘tech hub’ as any entity with physical locations, which provide support to tech innovators. These include accelerators, co-working spaces, and incubators, among a few others. There are now 618 active tech hubs in the Africa. Many of these hubs are either emerging in non-capital cities of African countries, or they are niche hubs with a focus on particular markets and sectors. However, the report also noted that not all tech hubs are successful – since 2016, over 150 tech hubs have disappeared.

The annual GSMA Mobile Economy report 2019 estimates that mobile subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa will increase to 623 million, about half of the population, by 2025.. The report points that the Continent is the fastest-growing for new subscribers. Last year, the mobile ecosystem across the region generated about $150 bn and it currently supports around 3.5 million jobs. 3G is expected to overtake 2G as the leading mobile technology later this year although 4G penetration is behind the global average.