Kenya is one of several countries on the African continent that are currently emerging as tech hubs. Kenya, along with Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, are classed as the ‘big four.’ Egypt is also emerging as a key tech hub in Africa.
These countries are leading the way in the new tech revolution, developing technology, providing services, and fostering innovation, particularly in the mobile sector.
Let’s dive straight in and take a closer look at how Kenya competes with South Africa as a tech hub, the latter of which focuses more on the artificial intelligence sector.
Is Kenya a tech hub?
Yes. Kenya is now considered a tech hub on the African continent. According to recent reports, Kenya receives more startup capital than any other African nation, even outperforming all of its closest rivals – South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt.
Kenya’s flourishing new digital tech hub has even been called the ‘Silicon Savannah,’ and many of the major advancements have been directly fuelled by the continued growth in smartphone usage with over 66 million mobile connections.
Kenya now stands at the forefront of the following tech areas:
- Mobile financial services
- Mobile broadband connectivity
The East African nation, which borders Somalia and the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and South Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, has attracted major foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tech sector.
According to IWS (Internet World Stats), internet penetration in Kenya is now at 85.2%, which has been fuelled by the GoK-approved goal of universal 4G coverage, and thanks to many other significant cash injections, Kenya’s ICT has grown by almost 11.00% each year over the past ten years.
The continued growth of smartphone usage is one of the major driving forces behind Kenya’s incredible growth in the digital services and eCommerce sectors.
The digitalization of government services has also played a major role in the continued development. Plus, there is also now a huge focus on green power.
The region is home to a highly skilled workforce of talented individuals, all of whom are helping to take the tech industry in Kenya to extraordinary new heights. Kenya also now has a well-matured iGaming sector, which is just one of many sectors that fall under the digital entertainment industry umbrella.
Some of the world’s most trusted iGaming brands, such as the official 10Bet (https://www.10bet.co.za/) website, are helping to push the boundaries of what is possible in this industry in Kenya. Companies like this are making things safer for Kenyans who want to sign up to legally permitted websites like this.
What are some of the main driving forces behind Kenya and South Africa’s technological revolution?
There are several reasons why Kenya, South Africa, and several other African nations such as Tanzania, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, and Nigeria have emerged as tech hubs.
The biggest contributing factors that have turned the ‘big four’ – Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Morocco into tech hubs for innovation and technological development are the following:
- These countries have sizeable populations and large GDPs, which naturally helps attract and encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tech sector
- Kenya’s large workforce is filled with highly skilled and talented workers in their respective fields, which is helping to grow the tech sector
- Kenya is considered an ideal country for tech startups, and companies choose Kenya as their base of operations over most other African countries
- Kenya has a well-matured regulatory framework and impressive tech ecosystem that helps foster innovation and grow the sector, and the newly introduced innovation-positive regulations have helped eliminate political restraints and other socio-economic issues that were slowing progress
- In Kenya and other African countries, tech startups can benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement
- Various key technological and scientific advancements in various sectors, along with access to better resources, has also helped fuel Kenya’s burgeoning tech scene
These nations have established themselves as the ideal destination for tech startups, and many are focused on the artificial intelligence sector.
Final thoughts
Kenya is home to Safaricom, the country’s largest mobile network operator. Other top providers are Telkom Kenya (Orange), Equitel, and Airtel. Safaricom generated approximately $2.5 billion in revenue in 2023 alone, and the network has consistently ranked as the best network for data for the past four years.
The nation is also home to several top mobile app development companies, some of which include TheBhub, Fourtech Global Solutions Ltd, Segue Interactive, Gustonera, Graph Technologies, VintEx Technologies, Compwiz Creations, Quest Website Developers, Intellspark Limited, and Muru Technologies In, to name a few.
Kenya is also making waves in the cybersecurity, fintech and cloud services sectors.
The tech workforce in Kenya has every right to be proud of what it has achieved in just a few short years. Now that the workforce has access to the right kind of financial backing and tools, anything is possible.
Experts predict that Kenya and its closest tech rivals, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt, will continue to go from strength to strength over the coming years and remain Africa’s biggest tech hubs for the foreseeable future.
