When asked if recent developments in African technology had impacted their perception of the continent, 4 out of 5 (84.6%) answered “yes”.
 

According to the report, 9 out of 10 (91.7%) respondents said they are likely to use technology solutions that are made in Africa and 9 out of 10 (91.8%) are likely to describe Africans as innovative and entrepreneurial.

When asked which African technology stories they were most excited to read about, 29.8% said: “funding stories”, closely followed by “expansion stories” (28%) and “partnership stories” (27%).

The Africa Innovation Impact Report, which was compiled by Talking Drum Communications, a public relations and communications consultancy that works with African technology companies, and Survey54, an artificial intelligence-powered market research company, also found that education (21.1 percent) is considered to be the sector most impacted by technology innovation in Africa over the last two years.

More than financial services (18.3%) and entertainment (15.1%).

A new innovation narrative has emerged in Africa in recent years, embodied by the exponential growth of funding for technology startups. Not only has investment into African startups grown 18x between 2015 and 2021, but funding for African startups also grew 2x faster than global rates between 2020 and 2021.

However, beyond the stories of multimillion-dollar funding rounds and acquisitions, there are also the stories of the people these innovations have been developed to help. The Africa Innovation Impact Report highlighted job creation (51%) as the biggest advantage of Africa’s growing digital economy.

More than exposure of the younger population to technology (29.3%), growing financial inclusion (12.4%) and the potential to plug infrastructure gaps on the continent (7.1%).

“Our aim with the report is to capture the impact of Africa’s emerging innovation narrative beyond anecdotes and hearsay and contribute to the conversation about how we keep things moving forward,” said Olugbeminiyi Idowu, Founder and MD of Talking Drum Communications, commenting on the findings of the report.