10 Global Tech Companies Investing in Africa
The African continent has steadily been growing in investment potential. Global tech companies have realized the investment potential in Africa, and begun investing in Africa.
Here are 10 global tech companies investing in Africa, across its various industries:
,Uber
Uber is a transport service app that allows users to order a car to transport them to a desired destination. Uber is available internationally as well as in various African countries such as South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. It also provides great work opportunity, as people can register to become independent contractor Uber drivers. The app has recently begun investing in Africa, majorly in Egypt. 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
Microsoft was actually one of the first international companies to begin investing in Africa. Their 4Afrika initiative was created to train the African youth. And now, the company has 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.Furthermore, Microsoft currently works with education ministries in numerous African countries – including Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Kenya, to name a few – by providing technology to assist in teaching and learning processes.
Opera
Norwegian web browser developer Opera software enables more than 350 million internet consumers to discover and connect with content and services. The developer has recently 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 todevelop artificial intelligence that delivers Africans customized and localized content, while continued efforts will be made to reduce data costs by around 90 percent.
A collaboration between Google and three other companies will create CSquared, an ICT infrastructure investment initiative. Google, pan-African ICT–focused private equity firm Convergence Partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Japan’s second-largest trading house,Mitsui & Co, have committed to investing a combined $100 million in this broadband infrastructure project to benefit African cities, with fast and reliable internet capabilities in the pipeline. The initiative is an extension of Project Link, a program Google first launched in Uganda four years ago in orderto provide local internet service providers (ISPs) with access to a more efficient infrastructure.
Marian Croak, Google’s vice president for access strategy and emerging markets says “Together with our new partners, we believe CSquared can roll-out and operate affordable, high-speed, and reliable infrastructure to further expand internet access in Africa.”
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is no stranger to investing in Africa. Along with investment in numerous tests regarding internet delivered via solar-powered drones, Facebook aims to complete the laying of500 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. The company is partnering with Airtel and BCS to provide the actual internet service, and says the fiber will offer more support for “mobile operators’ base stations.” The company also says that it’s “open” to working with other network providers down the line.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone or tablet. The service has proved to be quite popular. Hosts in Africa have welcomed 1.2 million guests to the continent in the past year, while earning a combined $139 million in host income, representing growth of 110 percent over the past year.
The app creators have 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 anexpanded host-training program within South African townships, enabling hosts to use the Airbnb technology and training them in hospitality.
Orange Telecom
Orange Telecom is a network operator and creator of digital experiences in 29 countries and for 263 million customers. The company has recently announced their latest startup investment initiative, which will aim to invest in innovative African startups across the continent. $56 million has been set for investment, in which half will indirectly go towards the digital sector, and the rest for a new initiative, called Orange Digital Ventures Africa.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American technology company that manufactures and markets computer hardware, middleware and software, and offers hosting and consulting services. The company launched iHub in Nairobi, an Innovation hub and hacker space for the technology community in Nairobi. They have further committed to investing $61 million over the next 10 years in a new laboratory at WITS University’s Tshimogolong Precinct tech hub in Johannesburg.
Greenwish Partners
The Australian renewable energy firm offers clean-energy technologies. The company has just announced plans to invest $800 million on solar-powered telecom towers to be builtthroughout 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.
Cisco
Cisco is an American multinational technology conglomerate that develops, manufactures and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment and other high-technology services and products. The company is investing in Africa through its recently launched Challenge Up! initiative in collaboration with Intel and Deutsche Telekom. The initiative is 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.
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