U.S. Investments Surge For African Tech Entrepreneurs

Investments from American tech companies and venture capitalists are boosting African startups significantly. Whether it’s Jim Goetz mentioning the development of 16 mobile apps in Botswana following Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, IBM’s innovation centers in Lagos and Casablanca, or Microsoft’s partnerships with three African incubators, African entrepreneurship is on the radar of investors. Data from CrunchBase showed that 2013 was a record year for technology investment in Africa.

Africa’s community of entrepreneurs is growing. IBM’s Innovation Centers in Lagos and Casablanca provide new tech companies with access to IBM’s technology, big data analytics, and cloud computing expertise, as well as skills training and business and marketing support. As noted by Solomon Assefa, an IBM researcher and VP of Science and Technology, Africa has experienced significant transformation over the past decade, with increased stability, vast economic growth, infrastructure developments, and foreign investments.

Other leading American corporations, such as Microsoft, have also increased their investments in Africa. Microsoft, through its 4Afrika program launched in February 2013, introduced a lending initiative that has already selected its first five startups from across the continent. Intel Capital has also ventured into multi-million dollar deals with African startups.

Africa’s tech revolution can be attributed to the drastic increase in access to affordable bandwidth, the proliferation of mobile devices, and the establishment of a homegrown market for content and commerce. The continent has seen bandwidth availability increase by a factor of 200 over the last two years, and the prices drop 90% within the same period. The development of Africa’s tech infrastructure continues at a rapid pace.

Several international investors, including private equity firms and tech-focused investors, have shown interest in the African market. In addition, tech powerhouses like Rocket Internet and Tiger Global Management have recently moved into the African market, and private equity elites like The Carlyle Group have also started investing in the continent. African startups are not only building online infrastructure for Africa, but also the physical infrastructure to support their businesses simultaneously.

source: Jonathan Shieber/ TechCrunch

Minor enhancements were applied in 2025 for readability.