In Africa, where conventional sectors appear to be reliant on natural resources, startups provide a means of achieving economic diversification. Africa can become less dependent on resource-based economies and build more resilient economic systems by fostering the growth of new businesses like Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, and Edtech. Unfortunately, some African cities have been slow to adopt the startup trend.
African cities are ideally positioned to spearhead the continent’s economic change because they are teeming with innovation and opportunity. However, the weak startup environment that exists in some of these urban locations is a major obstacle to achieving this promise.
Poor startup ecosystems can exasperate social and economic disparities owing to the fact that in this era startups have been instrumental in addressing local issues and providing solutions based on what the community wants.
In its absence, many societal concerns that could be tackled remain ignored, and the advantages of economic prosperity are not dispersed equally.
Also, a lack of a proper startup ecosystem creates an innovation gap that can prevent African cities from competing globally.
However, it is important to note that while some cities in Africa are unconducive for Startups, The Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024 report by Startup Blink shows that several African regions are quickly becoming globally recognized tech hubs.
The report also reveals that there are a good number of African cities that rank in the top 20% of the world’s leading Startup ecosystems globally.
Nonetheless, there are African cities that fall at the bottom 20% of Startup ecosystems globally, and below are 10 of the lowest in the 1000 global cities ranked.
10 worst African cities for Startups in 2024
| Rank | City | Country | Score | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Kisumu |
Kenya |
0.120 |
985th |
|
2. |
Douala |
Cameroon |
0.133 |
943rd |
|
3. |
Cotonou |
Benin |
0.133 |
942nd |
|
4. |
Agadir |
Morocco |
0.152 |
886th |
|
5. |
Kinshasa |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
0.154 |
878th |
|
6. |
Kano |
Nigeria |
0.159 |
867th |
|
7. |
Rabat |
Morocco |
0.177 |
818th |
|
8. |
Yaounde |
Cameroon |
0.198 |
778th |
|
9. |
Port Harcourt |
Nigeria |
0.203 |
768th |
|
10. |
Hargeisa |
Somalia |
0.204 |
762nd |
