Which is the Most Attractive Country for Investment in Africa?
Last month we reported that the Egyptian government had published data to show that Egypt was the best at attracting investment over the last 12 months. Now Nigeria has counter-attacked with a new report (Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report 2022) that shows that Nigeria leads the way for tech startup funding on the African continent over the last 8 years, with fintech companies the main driver. Between January 2015 and August 2022, 383 tech startups raised a combined US$2,068,709,445 – a higher total than any other country. So far in 2022, 107 Nigerian startups have raised funding, accounting for around 33% of the continent’s funded startups so far this year. The country’s running tally for 2022 stands at US$747,908,000 – closing in last year’s total of US$793,790,000.
Sadly, only 75 (15.6%) of Nigerian tech startups have at least one female founder, and just short of half have taken place in some form of accelerator or incubator programme.
According to the report which was co-authored by Disrupt Africa, the 481 startups tracked here employ between them just short of 20,000 people. The publication, which is the 18th released by Disrupt Research, is over 50 pages long and provides a detailed overview of the Nigerian startup ecosystem and its development over the last 5-10 years. It involves analysis as to what areas startups are active, a detailed look at funding and M&A trends, and an outline of the range of startup support services available to Nigerian entrepreneurs, including hubs, incubators, accelerators, and government, corporate, and university initiatives.
If you are confused by these claims do not despair, the Egyptian and Nigerian reports measure various aspects of investment – a case of comparing apples and pears!
Meanwhile, it is said that the Nigerian Federal Government has announced plans to impose a 5% excise tax on all calls, texts, and data usage. This may not assist the country to attract further investment.
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