The recent development of tech hubs across Africa exemplifies how technology clusters create a snowball effect, whereby initial preconditions for success generate additional, mutually reinforcing innovation drivers. The comparative success of certain clusters, while others remain stagnant, suggests that organic, multi-stakeholder ecosystems work better than initiatives led by government, the private sector, or academia alone.
As with the creative destruction of the original dot.com bubble, many new startups, including some of the hubs themselves, have overestimated market demand for their products and ended up with short lifespans. Yet the growth path is still rapid, with multiple new hubs cropping up each year and a net increase of around 15 percent since the start of 2014. The dynamism and quickly changing nature of the space necessitates frequent monitoring updates and collaborative research between monitoring groups.
Using the interactive map:
Use the map’s zoom features to take a closer look at Africa’s tech hub clusters, geo-located according to GPS coordinates.
Information on each tech hub be found by hovering the mouse over hub data point.
Direct mouse clicks provide even more detail.
