Bridging private sector and development finance to accelerate tech in Africa

In 2017 - 18 Africa Technology Business Network (ATBN) with support from the UK Government’s innovation agency (Innovate UK) undertook a focused investigation into the challenges faced by the African tech sector and the opportunities for investment and collaboration with the UK.

As part of the study we hosted two roundtables in Nairobi and Accra bringing together local stakeholders to understand their challenges and discuss how to build self-sustaining, globally competitive local tech ecosystems.

Our findings showed not a single problem, but a series of interrelated gaps resulting in cyclical obstacles to development of the African tech sector. It also became clear the important role that development finance working alongside private sector investment can play in helping to address these challenges.

We share our findings and learning in the report "Catalysing local innovation ecosystems in Kenya and Ghana: The role of development finance." Download it here

In addition we partnered with Frontier Economics to conduct a parallel study exploring the challenges that early stage African tech startups faced in accessing international investment. Their findings are shared in the report "Early stage investment in Sub Saharan Africa's tech sector" Download it here

The reports were launched at a roundtable in London in November 2018 which brought together stakeholders from private sector, international development and technology to share their views and discuss collaborative approaches to accelerating investment into Africa tech.