Start-up funding in Africa topped $1.2 billion in 2020 – a six-fold increase in five years, but still less than 1% of the value that US start-ups raised. The continent’s research and development (R&D) investment is only a quarter of the global average
Africa is trailing behind the world in developing a knowledge-based, digital economy
Governments can change this by fuelling tech start-ups and other small businesses through incentives and investment in workforce skills
A survey of 188 government incentives for business across 32 African countries found fewer than 10% facilitated investment in Fourth Industrial Revolution technology