Top 20 African Tech Companies - 2021

To the unaware, Africa is still known as the Dark Continent. However, numerous trends show how much progress has been made on the African continent. More importantly, there has been a lot of technological advancement that most of the world is unaware of. Consequently, countries in Africa are seeing economic progress and regional integration that could support the spread of transformational technologies such as artificial intelligence or the internet of things. Yet a profound lack in digital skills, coherent leadership, and basic infrastructure could make the continent miss out on a significant industrial revolution – this time with dire consequences, experts warn.

Further, the fourth industrial revolution is characterized by a fusion of the digital, biological, and physical worlds, where artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the "internet of things," and advanced wireless technologies see increased development. On current trends, it is very likely that nearly half of Africa's $100bn annual economic growth will be driven by this still-unknown group of "start-ups" in the next ten to twenty years. Perhaps then, governments in Africa will begin to take notice. Whether or not that happens, the tech ecosystem will in its own way begin powering Africa's growth, similar in impact to how America's tech ecosystem has driven so much of America's expansion in recent years. The effect will be nothing short of transformational.

Many cutting-edge African tech start-ups and companies are entering the domain with advanced and integrated offerings. To help business leaders strengthen their operational capabilities and simultaneously enable growth in the industry, CIOReview has compiled a list of most promising African Tech Companies. The list comprises prominent organizations in the industry that address issues pertinent to various technological landscapes by implementing current trends. Besides, the magazine also includes insights from thought leaders in the sector on the industry trends, best practices, recent innovations, and their advice for aspiring CIOs.

We present to you CIOReview's "20 Most Promising African Tech Companies – 2021."