A report that includes the surveyed opinions of 4,500 Africans from Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana has revealed that the recent wave of technology innovation coming out of Africa is changing how Africans view the continent. When asked if recent developments in African technology had impacted their perception of the continent, 4 out of 5 (84.6%) answered “yes”.
What were the findings of the study?
According to the report, 91.7% are likely to use tech solutions that are made in Africa and 9 out of 10 (91.8%) are likely to describe Africans as innovative and entrepreneurial. When asked which African tech stories they were most excited to read about, 29.8% said “funding stories”, closely followed by “expansion stories” (28%) and “partnership stories” (27%).
The Africa Innovation Impact Report, which was compiled by Talking Drum Communications, a public relations and communications consultancy that works with African tech companies, and Survey54, an AI-powered market research company, also found that education (21.1 percent) is considered to be the sector most impacted by technology innovation in Africa over the last two years. More than financial services (18.3%) and entertainment (15.1%).
An innovation narrative has emerged in Africa in recent years, embodied by the exponential growth of funding for tech startups. Not only has investment into African startups grown 18x between 2015 and 2021, funding for African startups grew 2x faster than global rates between 2020 and 2021. However, beyond the stories of multimillion dollar funding rounds, there are also the stories of the people these innovations have been developed to help.
The report highlighted job creation (51%) as the biggest advantage of Africa’s growing digital economy. More than exposure of the younger population to tech (29.3%), growing financial inclusion (12.4%) and the potential to plug infrastructure gaps on the continent (7.1%).
What were the executive’s thoughts on the study?
Commenting on the findings of the report, Olugbeminiyi Idowu, Founder and Managing Director of Talking Drum Communications, said, “Our aim with the research study is to capture the impact of the continent’s emerging innovation narrative beyond anecdotes and hearsay, and contribute to the conversation about how we keep things moving forward.”
“Based on the data we have gathered, the innovation coming out of Africa is not only changing the way people live and work, it is also changing the way people think, how they view themselves as Africans and driving a demand for more innovation,” Idowu added.
“There is a growing appetite for these innovations, both from African users and global investors, and there is much to be excited about what the future holds,” Idowu concluded.
The report is available for free on the Talking Drum Communications and Survey54 websites.
