From The “Silicon Cape” To The “Silicon Savannah,” African Tech Hubs Are Booming

New research shows incredible growth in tech hubs around Africa. These support centers for app developers, hackers and entrepreneurs are just part of a massive technological renaissance in the region, where the population has “leapfrogged” into the mobile age. Millions of users are now using technology created locally, keeping money in Africa, where so many other sectors simply send profits abroad.

“One of the key features of the African digital renaissance is that it is increasingly homegrown,” wrote World Bank policy specialist Tim Kelly in a blog post this week.

“In other sectors of the African economy, such as mining or agribusiness, much of the know-how is imported and the wealth extracted,” Kelly wrote.

Nearly two-thirds of households in sub-Saharan Africa have at least one cell phone, a rate that’s been increasing by an average of five percent every year, according to the results of a Gallup poll released on Thursday. The GSMA forecasts that there will be 346 million mobile users in the region by 2017.

Meanwhile, less than 2 percent of households in the countries surveyed have a traditional landline. This technological “leapfrog” is the driving force behind this region’s most exciting economic growth assets: tech hubs.

In a joint project for the Botswana Innovation Hub, World Bank researchers collaborated with startups in Kenya and Zambia to create a crowdsourced map of tech hubs in Africa… (SEE THE MAP HERE)