Regional Overview: African Startup Ecosystems

Entrepreneurship in West Africa is alive and well. The biggest strength of many West African startup ecosystems is their entrepreneurially driven culture. Our SFI corroborates this as it shows countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal achieving scores of 67.08, 74.79, and 78.31 on the Entrepreneurial Culture subdomain. Impressively, they rank better in this subdomain compared to several Asian countries, which already have a strong startup ecosystem such as Indonesia (53.46) and Singapore (49.99). Noting the power and prevalence of such an entrepreneurial culture, governments in the region have responded with policies that are aimed at creating a dynamic and conducive environment for startup growth. In Ghana, for example, startups account for up to 50% of new jobs. In Nigeria, startups have forged a strong ecosystem and Lagos is sometimes called the “Silicon Valley of Africa”.

Of course, government policies in each of these countries differ. In Nigeria, the government empowers startups through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). Its role is to “develop, regulate and advise on information technology in the country through regulatory standards, guidelines and policies”. Additionally, NITDA is the clearing house for all IT projects and the infrastructural development in the country. 

In Ghana, there is a robust network of both public and private institutions supporting entrepreneurship and SMEs. The government helps startups and drives innovation via the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP). However, it is worth mentioning other networks that collaborate with the NEIP within this common drive for innovation and entrepreneurship like the Ghana Hubs Network, Young Entrepreneurs Chamber, Ghana Startup Network, i4policy, and the Accra Digital Center. Ghana is also following in the footsteps of Senegal as it is currently discussing the enactment of a Startup Act. 

Senegal has taken a step further as the Startup Act has been a catalyst for startup growth, becoming the first and only country within the region, and the second in Africa overall, to implement such a framework.