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The Silicon Savannah and Tech in Africa

Africa’s tech startups raised a record $5 billion in 2021 as investors piled into firms trying to fix the continent’s thorniest problems. But money isn’t flowing evenly. – Bloomberg Quicktake Originals


UNICORN
The term unicorn refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion. It is commonly used in the venture capital industry. The term was first popularized by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. Unicorns are very rare and require innovation. Because of their sheer size, unicorn investors tend to be private investors or venture capitalists, which means they are out of the reach of retail investors. Although it isn’t necessary, many unicorns work their way to going public. The term is also used in human resources to describe.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Unicorn is the term used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company with a value of over $1 billion. 
  • The term was first coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013.
  • Some popular unicorns include SpaceX, Robinhood, and Instacart.
  • There are more than 1,000 unicorn companies around the world, as of March 2022.1
  • The term unicorn can also be used by human resources managers to describe their ideal candidates, who may be overqualified for a certain position.
  • Source: Investopedia

African Tech Companies and Innovation Centers:

Note: Some institutions may be African/ Black face but not African/ Black owned and controlled.

  • iHub – We are a globally recognised organisation that is deeply steeped in the local technology innovation culture. We’ve been both the main catalyst for regional technology acceleration and a role model for technology hubs across emerging markets
  • M-PESA – is Africa’s most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform. M-PESA is the preferred way to make payments across the continent both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and unmatched convenience.  It also provides financial services to millions of people who have mobile phones, but do not have bank accounts, or only have limited access to banking services. Now, M-PESA provides more than 51 million customers across seven countries in Africa with a safe, secure and affordable way to send and receive money, top-up airtime, make bill payments, receive salaries, get short-term loans and much more.
  • Sendy – We bring together everything that’s required for E-commerce and Consumer brands to ship goods to consumers and retailers across Africa. It’s our mission to make trade easier.
  • flutterwave – Sell online, process payments, build financial products, or use business tools designed to grow your business.

Blafrokan Reflections:

  • How do we insure equitable access for women in Africa’s tech space for innovation and ownership?
  • Is African tech innovation in keeping with African cultural values, ancient wisdom and social ecology?
  • How is African technology being used to build sustainable infrastructural necessities for the benefit of city, village, working class people?
  • In what ways can Africans innovate to combat man made adverse climate changes?
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News, info & stories presented by non-Blafrokan institutions & media is to expand African's knowledge for informed decisions, & improve African lives for African sovereignty.

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