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10 Global Tech Companies That Are Investing In Africa

10 Global Tech Companies That Are Investing In Africa

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For many global tech companies, investing in Africa is a strategy for growth that is allowing them to tap into a growing market that is full of great potential.

Tech companies from across various sectors are looking to Africa for growth, with the likes of Facebook, Google and Microsoft all putting their money into the continent.

Whether they are investing in infrastructure, skills or the startup ecosystem, these tech companies are boosting economies and creating jobs.

Here are 10 global tech companies that are investing in Africa.

Sources:  ITWeb, Albawaba, Telecompaper, Techcentral, CNBCAfrica, Recode.

Uber in Africa
Uber is now available in 16 African cities. Photo: newsroom.uber.com

Uber

Uber recently committed itself to the Egyptian market despite economic difficulties in the country, announcing a new support center in the capital that will see an investment of $20 million. The taxi-hailing startup has launched a support center in Cairo, with $20 million set to be spent on the project over the next five years, creating employment for 700 Egyptians as a result.

Microsoft
Photo: bfishadowFollow/ Microsoft, fickr

Microsoft

Earlier this year U.S. software giant Microsoft announced plans to open two new cloud data centers in South Africa, in order to provide Microsoft Cloud services for the African market from centers based on the continent. The company was one of the first U.S. tech giants to begin investing in Africa when it launched its 4Afrika initiative four years ago, with a $75 million budget dedicated to training the youth in Africa.

Image: Johan Larsson / Flickr /Opera Mini 5 Beta

Opera

In May Norwegian web browser developer Opera Software announced plans to invest $100 million in Africa’s digital economy over the next two years, as the company aims to consolidate its most robust market. The investment is being used to develop artificial intelligence that delivers Africans customized and localized content, while continued efforts will be made to reduce data costs by around 90 percent.

Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@pawel_czerwinski

Google

In May this year, Google and three strategic partners committed to investing a combined $100 million in a broadband infrastructure project to benefit African cities, with fast and reliable internet capabilities in the pipeline. Google, Convergence Partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Mitsui & Co will invest the significant amount in order to provide local internet service providers (ISPs) with access to a more efficient infrastructure.

Image: Stock Catalog / Flickr

Facebook

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been to Africa on numerous occasions, and sees great potential for the social media giant’s growth on the continent. Along with investment in numerous tests regarding internet delivered via solar-powered drones, Facebook aims to complete the laying of 500 miles of fiber cable in Uganda by the end of the year, infrastructure that Facebook believes will provide internet access for more than three million people.

Image: Open Grid Scheduler/ Flickr

Airbnb

In October Airbnb has made a commitment to invest $1 million in community-led tourism projects across the African continent over the course of the next few years. The investment from the mobile app-based hospitality booking site will be used to enable a number of initiatives, including an expanded host-training program within South African townships, enabling hosts to use the Airbnb technology and training them in hospitality.

Image: WrS.tm.pl / Flickr

Orange Telecom

In June French telecommunications operator Orange Telecom announced the launch of an African startup investment initiative that will support innovative startups across the continent. Orange has earmarked $56 million for investment, with half of it set to be invested indirectly through funds that specialize in the digital sector, in partnership with Partech Ventures and AfricInvest. The other half of the funds will go towards the creation of a new initiative, called Orange Digital Ventures Africa.

Image: Johan Larsson / Flickr

IBM

American tech powerhouse IBM has been investing in Africa for some time, and continues to do so through incubators and innovation spaces. It launched one such space at the iHub in Nairobi during 2015, and is committed to investing $61 million over the next 10 years in a new laboratory at WITS University’s Tshimogolong Precinct tech hub in Johannesburg.

To Invest $800M In African Solar-Powered Telecommunications Towers
GreenWish To Invest $800M In African Solar-Powered Telecommunications Towers. Photo: commsmea.com

GreenWish Partners

In August renewable energy firm, GreenWish Partners, which is run by former Morgan Stanley executive Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian, announced plans to invest $800 million on solar-powered telecom towers to be built throughout Africa in partnership with telecoms provider Orange. This initiative will begin with 250 towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the course of this year, with future objectives set at 3,000 towers across numerous countries by 2018 and 10,000 by 2020.

Image: DennisM2 / Flickr

Cisco

Cisco is another of the tech companies supporting African tech startups, with specific focus in the acceleration and financing spaces. The company has partnered with Intel and Deutsche Telekom to launch Challenge Up!, an internet of things accelerator for startups. Cisco Capital has also launched a low-rate financing program in South Africa that will assist small businesses to invest in next generation technologies.