A new report that included surveyed opinions from 4.500 Africans from Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana reveals that the recent wave of technological innovation coming out of Africa is changing the way Africans view the continent.
When asked whether recent African technology developments had impacted their perception of the continent, 4 out of 5 (84,6%) responded “yes".
According to research, 9 out of 10 (91,7%) are likely to use technology solutions that are made in Africa and 9 out of 10 (91,8%) are likely to describe Africans as innovators and entrepreneurs.
When asked which African tech stories they were most excited to read, 29,8% said “funding stories", closely followed by "expansion stories” (28%) and “partnership stories” (27%).
Research from the Africa Innovation Impact Report, compiled by Talking Drum Communications, a public relations and communications consultancy that works with African technology companies, and Survey54, an artificial intelligence-powered market research firm, also showed that education ( 21,1%) is considered the sector most impacted by technological innovation in Africa in the last two years. More than financial services (18,3%) and entertainment (15,1%).
It should be noted that a new innovation narrative has emerged in Africa in recent years, embodied by the exponential growth in funding for technology startups. Not only did investment in African startups grow 18x between 2015 and 2021, funding for African startups also grew at 2x faster than global rates between 2020 and 2021.
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However, beyond the stories of multi-million dollar funding rounds and acquisitions, there are also the stories of the people these innovations were designed to help.
The Africa Innovation Impact Report singled out job creation (51%) as the biggest advantage of Africa's growing digital economy. More than the younger population's exposure to technology (29,3%), growing financial inclusion (12,4%) and the potential to bridge infrastructure gaps on the continent (7,1%).
“The nOur aim with the report is to capture the impact of Africa's emerging innovation narrative beyond anecdotes and rumours, and to contribute to the conversation about how we keep things moving forward. Based on the data we gathered, innovation coming out of Africa is not only changing the way people live and work, it is also changing the way people think, how they see themselves as African and driving a demand for more innovation. . There is a growing appetite for these innovations from both African users and global investors, and there is much to be excited about what the future holds.“, said Olugbeminiyi Idowu, founder and CEO of Talking Drum Communications.
You can see it for free Africa Innovation Impact Report on the websites Talking Drum Communications e Survey54.
