It is an exciting time in Africa with the explosion of new startups. Starting a business is always a risk, but when you have an idea for a product or service you are passionate about, the risk doesn’t seem so great. When starting a business, you are utilizing your leadership, creativity, problem-solving and management skills to make it a success, as well as providing new job opportunities for your community. Africa has seen a sharp increase in tech startups in the past five years. The abundant talent and funding have made Africa a new tech hub. According to the WeeTracker 2018 Venture Investment Report, over $725 million dollars was raised for startups (458 deals). Let’s take a look at some of these amazing startups:
- Flutterwave – Provides a complete payment solution with its platform for expense management and payment processing. It allows African businesses to accept and make payments anywhere in the world by creating a customized payment gateway.
- Taimba – This company is dedicated to connecting farmers with retailers. Taimba is a business-to-business mobile cashless payment platform that improves food chains, cuts wastage and purchases produce from farmers without undercutting them. Tamiba also provides guidance to business owners to help them expand.
- Vconnect – A managed-services marketplace, Vconnect connects local service professionals with businesses. The company was started because hiring a service professional took too long and was often expensive. Vconnect offers 200 live services (e.g. CCTV installation) and has over 100,000 verified professionals. Businesses can trust that they will find the best service professional for their needs.
- MeQasa – This real estate startup connects homebuyers with real estate agents via its easy-to-navigate platform. The company was founded to solve the issue of unreliable information about real estate in Ghana. Whether you are looking to buy or rent, you will find a variety of commercial and residential properties. It also features real estate developers, showcases neighborhoods and provides property market news.
The digital payment platform has opened doors for businesses to not only operate within their country but around the world. African startups are taking advantage of this new technology, and are using it to become part of the global economy. These entrepreneurs saw a problem and created a product or service to solve it, producing new opportunities and adding value to peoples’ lives. I am confident that the number of startups will continue to rise and that they will be successful.