(Newswire.net — May 21, 2019) — Fundraising in Africa’s tech industry was on full display last week at the Afrobytes and Viva Tech conferences. Tech startups in Africa secured $1.16 billion in funding last year with 146 startups raising money.
Key countries where funding was dispersed include Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria which received 78% of all funding last year.
Paris held both of the conferences, but while France is a great country to start a business, it has not been good at growing these companies. The country makes it difficult for small enterprises to turn into corporate titans forcing many of the startups to leave France for Canada, the US or China which have helped grow many budding startups into corporate giants.
Many startups will grow in Africa before moving to other countries where technology or a strong workforce is present. A lot of tech startups in Toronto were keeping a close eye on French-speaking companies, such as Senegal, which is in Africa and raised $22 million over four investment rounds.
Afrobytes 2019 included several large companies, including Facebook, Google and PayPal which were all present to pump venture capital into Africa’s startups. The country is the perfect choice with a large population and a mobile-first attitude which many large enterprises can leverage.
Africa’s governments are also helping to fund startups offering $2 million in funding to forty startups.
The startup atmosphere around the world is picking up with many small startups hoping to be purchased by enterprises. The Dutch government has called for tighter restrictions on acquisitions, targeting Apple and Google specifically.
The Dutch are calling on the European Union to enact tougher rules on acquisitions. Proposals include new criteria for regulators, antitrust data and giving regulators the ability to stop a merger if it gives a company a dominant position in an industry.
Startups are leading the way with new and exciting technologies from around the world. These companies are key for acquisitions as they allow larger entities to enter a market faster and avoid much of the research and development process.
The home-care industry is ripe with startups from medical drones that can deliver much-needed support in natural disasters as well as Safe Balance that tests the risk of seniors falling. Safe Balance, for example, will test the risk of a patient falling and has just signed eleven licenses with senior living facilities, hospitals and home care companies.
The technology has been shown to reduce falls by as much of 20% using the technology.