New report ranks Lagos as Africa’s most valuable startup ecosystem

This month saw the release of the Global Startup Ecosystem Report and Ranking 2017, produced by Startup Genome in collaboration with the Global Entrepreneurship Network. Its findings, based on conversations with entrepreneurs and data on startups, made for interesting reading. No single African country made the top 20 ranking on the list, but Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg warranted mention in the report. Lagos has the most valuable startup ecosystem in Africa, with the local entrepreneurship scene worth around US$2 billion. The Lagos ecosystem has the ninth highest rate of founders with an undergraduate degree at 59 per cent, while 93 per cent of them have a technical background, the third highest rate in the world. However, Lagos startups have one of the lowest rates of foreign customers, suggesting challenges exist for those 11% of companies looking to go global. Cape Town is the largest startup ecosystem on the African continent, with between 700 and 1,200 active tech startups in the city. The whole ecosystem, however, is valued at US$172 million, well below both Lagos and Johannesburg. One-third of Cape Town startup founders have gained at least two years of prior experience in a fast-growing startup, making them five per cent more experienced than the global average. The ecosystem with the highest global connectedness was Johannesburg, which also has an ecosystem value of US$1.36 billion. The city has the third highest percentage of startups globally that experienced positive corporate interest and involvement, at 67 per cent. The global average is at 51 per cent.