The Tech Boom in Africa is Real.

Africa is estimated to have 600 million mobile phones while the number of smartphones is estimated to be 100 million. In some African countries, there are more mobile phones that there are people. All over Africa, there is a palpable sense of feeling that the technology sector is growing in leaps and bounds. Mobile money transfer is just one of the areas in which Africa leads the rest of the world. If we can develop solutions that are locally relevant and can be cascaded to serve entire populations, then Africa will be on to a great technological revolution.

One aspect to look at is the booming tech incubation hub activity in the continent. They have helped put all the resources that people need in a single place. The tech incubation hubs have brought together first class talent that is deep and hungry for success. For instance, incubation hubs such as Ihub and Hypercube have helped achieve just that. Equally, there are angel investors and venture capitalists that have come out to look for innovations which they can finance.Platforms such as Ihub bring these investors into a single place, and
help them connect with potential entrepreneurs. What's more, angel investors and venture capitalists do not provide just capital. They provide mentorship, access to markets, and most importantly, credibility, which can help the entrepreneur get later rounds of funding.


The real reason for such a positive outlook to the African technology scene is the sheer number of problems that need to be solved. These problems are many. For instance, according to IBM Africa chief scientist Uyi Stewart, there are piles and piles of data waiting to be collected in Africa, and no one is collecting the data. If one could develop data solutions that could help solve some of the continent's most pressing problems, then these entrepreneurs could unlock lots of fortunes. Even though mobile money transfer has been the single biggest innovation from Africa, other aspects such as education and healthcare could be important goldmines, ensuring that African entrepreneurs are able to recreate entire industries.