The New TYCOONS READY FOR The Next NORMAL
THERE IS A WIDELY-HELD BELIEF THAT AFRICA can escape its poverty by skipping enormous stages of development through the use of technology. Those who are proponents of this belief continue to put their faith in technology’s ability to help Africa leapfrog and escape years of exploitation the continent has suffered through colonialism. One country at the forefront of this movement is Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, with over 200 million inhabitants. According to a 2019 report by the Center for Global Development, Nigeria overtook South Africa as the leading investment destination with 55 active technology hubs accounting for a total of $94.9 million in funds raised in contrast to the $60 million raised and 59 active startups in South Africa. Furthermore, the country is considered Africa’s biggest technology market and accounts for 24% of internet users in Africa with 126 million people online in December 2019, as per figures from Internet World Stats, 2020.
The Nigerian Communications Commission estimated the country had the largest number of telecommunications subscribers with a tele-density figure of almost 96.76% last year. Matt Warman, the United Kingdom’s Digital Minister, in a report published by the UK’s Department of Digital Culture, Media and Sport, estimated that Nigeria’s tech sector is projected to create some three million jobs and generate £67.4 billion ($80 billion) for the economy by 2021.
The boom in technology has created riches at traditionally unprecedented rates all over the world, turning recent university graduates into young billionaires. A new generation of business leaders who are charting a new path for the next generation are emerging and being hailed ‘the new tycoons’, hungry to take a slice of billion-dollar empires with their innovations.
The new tycoons of Nigeria are much younger and work in a collaborative economy to disrupt existing systems than their older peers and have a focus on generating wealth along the way.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made everyone realize how important technology is and its impact has never been more important than it is today. These new young multi-millionaires have most often moved back to Nigeria to set up companies that have spurred on the Nigerian tech sector. Whether it’s in the fields of energy, agriculture, banking, transportation, logistics, health or fintech, Nigeria’s new tycoons are moving away from conventional old money to a new digital economy to build future wealth.
The subsequent growth of these entrepreneurs has also attracted many big tech companies and investors as well as international attention and funding. According to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, North America-headquartered investors accounted for 42% of all African venture capital deals in the last five years with only 20% of venture cash coming from Africa-based investors, forcing the continent’s entrepreneurs to seek support from the West.
“By providing market linkages, training and financial services, tech firms help to improve food security and create more employment opportunities for the sector.”
– Bismarck Rewane
Whether it is Jumia with its subsequent listing on the New York Stock Exchange or Andela, with its $100 million Series D fundraising round, which has trained hundreds of software developers and
