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Ranked: Africa’s Most Innovative Countries 2024

The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 offers a comprehensive view of Africa’s position in the global innovation landscape, providing crucial data that informs decisions for tech founders, investors, and policymakers alike. By ranking countries based on their innovation ecosystems, the GII helps highlight potential opportunities and challenges within specific markets.

Key Insights:

  • Top Innovators: Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, and Botswana lead the way, offering favourable ecosystems for tech-driven growth.
  • Overperformers: Rwanda shows how innovation can thrive with the right policies, even in low-income settings.
  • Challenges: Nigeria and Kenya’s underperformance signals the need for strategic interventions to unlock their innovation potential.
  • Venture Capital Decline: The fall in VC investments calls for alternative funding strategies to support Africa’s growing tech ecosystems.
  • Lagging Markets: Angola ranks last, highlighting severe challenges but also potential opportunities for long-term investment.

The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 provides key insights into Africa’s innovation landscape by evaluating countries based on seven pillars of innovation:

  1. Institutions – Government efficiency, regulatory environment, and rule of law.
  2. Human Capital & Research – Education systems, tertiary education, and research outputs.
  3. Infrastructure – ICT infrastructure, energy, and logistics.
  4. Market Sophistication – Access to credit, investment, and the business environment.
  5. Business Sophistication – Workforce, knowledge absorption, and knowledge intensity in businesses.
  6. Knowledge & Technology Outputs – Creation, impact, and diffusion of knowledge.
  7. Creative Outputs – Cultural and creative industries, online creativity, and intangible assets.

Top Performers and Overachievers

Leading African countries like Mauritius (55th), South Africa (69th), and Botswana (87th) continue to provide robust environments for tech-driven ventures. These countries, all in the upper middle-income group, leverage strong policy frameworks and have seen consistent improvements in infrastructure, education, and tech ecosystems.

Rwanda remains a notable overperformer, ranking highly in the low-income category (19.7), largely due to its pro-innovation policies and strategic focus on digital health and smart city initiatives.

Decline in Venture Capital Investments

One of the most concerning trends in 2024 is the sharp decline in venture capital (VC) investments across Africa. After a strong surge in funding from 2020 to 2022, 2023 witnessed a return to pre-pandemic levels of VC investments, limiting the financial lifeline for startups across the continent. This slowdown particularly affects emerging tech hubs, constraining the ability of new ventures to scale.

Nigeria and Kenya Underperforming

Despite their economic size and potential, Nigeria and Kenya are underperforming in the global innovation space. Nigeria, ranked 113th with a score of 17.1, continues to struggle with structural barriers such as regulatory challenges, limited access to capital, and insufficient infrastructure to support its vibrant startup ecosystem. This is especially notable given its status as one of Africa’s largest economies, raising concerns about its ability to maintain a leadership role in tech innovation.

Kenya, which has historically been recognized as a key tech hub in East Africa, also ranks lower than expected at 96th (score: 21). Its relatively low score reflects hurdles in scaling innovation across various sectors despite its role as a leader in mobile technology and fintech.

Angola: Slow but steady

At the bottom of the African innovation ranking for 2024 is Angola (133rd, score: 10.2). Despite its rich natural resources, Angola has consistently faced severe infrastructural deficits, limited policy support for innovation, and challenges in fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem. For tech investors, this presents both a warning about the difficulties of entering the Angolan market and a potential opportunity for growth should the government and private sector prioritize tech-driven development.

Opportunities for Growth and Strategic Interventions

For investors, the data from GII 2024 offers a roadmap for where strategic interventions could yield the most significant returns. High-ranking countries like Mauritius, South Africa, and Botswana are well-positioned to attract foreign investment and talent, while markets like Nigeria and Kenya highlight the need for targeted funding and policy reforms. Meanwhile, low-income overperformers like Rwanda demonstrate how proactive governance can drive innovation, even in resource-constrained environments.

For Africa to fully realise its innovation potential, investments must be channeled toward enhancing market sophistication, improving infrastructure, and ensuring access to financing across all income levels. The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 highlights the necessity of addressing these structural barriers to foster sustainable growth and unlock Africa’s digital and innovation future. As the global tech ecosystem shifts, Africa has the opportunity to rise as a leader, provided it strengthens its foundational pillars of innovation. With venture capital declining and underperformers like Angola struggling, Africa’s future hinges on bold investments and transformative policy shifts. The time to act is now.

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Business of Tech Africa by Juniper Media.