{"id":142725,"date":"2021-09-02T07:09:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T07:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=142725"},"modified":"2023-09-27T18:18:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T18:18:24","slug":"could-tech-lions-prowling-silicon-savannah-hold-key-to-east-africas-post-pandemic-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/09\/could-tech-lions-prowling-silicon-savannah-hold-key-to-east-africas-post-pandemic-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Tech ‘Lions’ Prowling Silicon Savannah Hold Key to East Africa’s Post-Pandemic Recovery?"},"content":{"rendered":"
As East Africa recovers from the social and economic impact of the pandemic, could the region’s vibrant tech start-up ecosystem be a catalyst for accelerated growth?<\/p>\n
Following a year of constrained growth – East Africa saw only meagre growth of 0.9% in 2020, compared to 6.6% in 2019 – economies across the region look poised to recover some lost ground.<\/p>\n
According to the latest data<\/a>, Kenya is expected to see growth of 6.3% in 2021, Ethiopia 4%, Uganda 3.7%, Rwanda 5.7% and Tanzania 5.2% in 2021.<\/p>\n While traditional sectors such as tourism took a heavy knock due to the lockdowns imposed as well as limits to international travel, the region\u2019s tech sector proved resilient and could hold promising potential for accelerating the region\u2019s economic recovery.<\/p>\n For example, mobile money, for which the region is considered a global leader, continued to perform well. Mobile money transfers in Kenya grew by 62.9% in 2020, largely due to social distancing measures that saw consumers shy away from cash payments.<\/p>\n The quality of fintech start-ups that has emerged in East Africa over the past decade has established the region as one of the continent’s most innovative.<\/p>\n Nairobi, long considered as a regional technology and trade hub, recently took a bold step toward also becoming a world-class financial hub with the launch of the Nairobi International Financial Centre. The centre could unlock a new era international investment into East Africa and its vibrant business ecosystem, as evidenced by the recent $181m investment<\/a> by the UK government.<\/p>\n The region has also established vital innovation hubs to provide support and greater market opportunities for local innovators.<\/p>\n Rwanda’s kLab<\/a> provides an open space for collaboration and innovation, and brings together students, thinkers, and entrepreneurs to turn concepts into viable products and services. In Uganda, the Outbox<\/a> incubation and innovation space provides similar support to local entrepreneurs, while Kenya’s iHub<\/a> has brought together innovators and some of the world’s leading organisations to accelerate start-up activity in the country.<\/p>\nThe (healthy) state of start-up innovation in East Africa<\/strong><\/h2>\n