The news:
- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with several African governments, and key players in the private sector, plans to raise $1 billion to build a series of technology hubs to enhance startup innovation across the continent.
- The UN agency revealed that the first of 10 tech hubs, which will go on to make up part of the world’s largest initiative supporting Africa’s tech startups, will launch at UNDP’s innovation centre in Lagos, Nigeria, in a few days.
According to the UNDP, other tech hubs will launch around the continent later in 2024, including an agritech hub in Accra, Ghana; a healthtech hub in Kigali, Rwanda; and a minetech hub in Lusaka, Zambia.
The UN agency also stated that the initiative has also commenced University Innovation Pods in 13 African cities as centres for research and development, to offer young innovators space to transform their ideas into viable products and profitable ventures.
Per an email statement, signed by Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP Africa Bureau, the initiative is a major milestone in the agency’s mission to ignite a startup revolution in Africa.
The agency plans to focus this initiative on the African youth population as the hubs and the $1 billion fund — which will be raised from private and public institutions — will back over 10,000 youth-led startups across the continent’s economic sectors.
On January 17, 2024, Techpoint Africa reported that the UNDP entered into a partnership with African countries to launch the Timbuktoo Initiative to raise and allocate $1 billion to create 10 million job opportunities and transform 100 million lives.
The continent, being home to the world’s fastest-growing and most youthful population, has positioned itself as a lucrative market for finance, agriculture and healthcare startups. This has given rise to unicorns or companies that have achieved a pre-market valuation of at least $1 billion, such as Interswitch, Flutterwave, and Jumia.
The $1 billion fund will be a big boost for African tech startups, especially given the significant decline in venture capital inflows in 2023. About 83% of venture capital in Africa comes from outside the continent, with the majority going to countries like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, where the fintech industry accounts for about 60% of the total.
