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THE EMERGING INNOVATION HUBS OF AFRICA’S THRIVING TECH ECOSYSTEM
From Nairobi to Lagos, Johannesburg to Kigali, innovation hubs across major African cities are driving the continent’s digital transformation and using technology to solve local challenges. Here are five hubs to look out for.
Rwanda Build, Kigali, Rwanda
The Rwanda Build headquarters, a three-storey street-corner building in Kiyovu, has its outer walls decorated in eye-catching graffiti murals. The atmosphere inside is just as creative and vibrant, with flexible co-working spaces and private offices designed to nurture collaboration. The tech hub and start-up studio that supports aspiring entrepreneurs in building software companies from the ground up also hosts regular networking events, pitch competitions and demo days that attract investors and can unlock growth opportunities. The rooftop Ikawa Cafe is ideal for more informal meetings, and when the working day is done, it becomes a social hub for this creative community with game nights and open mic events.
Start-up success: Rwanda Build, with its partners, won a prestigious National Institute of Health grant to build 912Rwanda, an online ambulance solution with a primary goal of reducing the travel time of emergency ambulances in Kigali.
Hello, Kigali is a city discovery app that includes taxi/moto cost estimators and built-in directions to more than 3,000 desired locations, such as restaurants and cafés in the Rwandan capital.
The hub has also launched its own cashless payment system, ‘Guhemba’, which can be used to order food and drinks at Ikawa Café.
Co-Creation Hub Africa (CcHUB), Lagos, Nigeria
This leading pan-African innovation ecosystem enabler began as a major player in the thriving Nigerian creative economy. Through its start-up funding and innovation support, CcHUB aims to accelerate the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity across Africa. Its incubation unit has supported more than 100 early-stage ventures that use technology to tackle social problems, which have, in turn, created many hundreds of jobs. The hub’s areas of focus include green and sustainable tech, education, and health.
Successful start-ups: CcHUB has played a significant role in nurturing the growth of various ventures, including notable companies like Kenyan payment service provider Flutterwave, Nigerian mobile money operating company Opay, and Nigerian software company Andela.
Mountain Hub, Buea, Cameroon
Mountain Hub is the leading technology and innovation hub in Cameroon. Its headquarters are in Buea – around a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Douala – and is known as ‘Silicon Mountain’ because of its location on the slopes of Mount Cameroon and its burgeoning tech ecosystem. Many of the town’s wealth of young tech talent benefit from the pre-seed capital, access to corporate partners, and dedicated team of experts that Mountain Hub offers to help launch, grow, and scale their start-ups.
The Innovation Hub, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Innovation Hub is Africa’s first official science park, helping tech companies grow. The focus here is on science and technology development with labs, testing spaces, and areas for collaboration. The hub runs programmes to help startups at different stages of growth and connects new companies with researchers and industry partners. It also helps give young Africans the skills to thrive in the tech sector through project-based learning programmes such as CoachLab that aim to bridge the gap between academia and the practical demands of the business world. Innovators and entrepreneurs can connect through the hub to competitions that offer seed funding and cash prizes to take their projects to the next level.
Successful start-ups: The Innovation Hub in Johannesburg, South Africa, has incubated successful startups such as Technovera, known for its Pelebox self-service smart lockers that enable the efficient collection of urgent medication.
iHub, Nairobi, Kenya
Started in 2010 by the Kenyan tech pioneers behind collaborative mapping platform Ushahidi, iHub has grown into one of East Africa’s most important technology hubs. Located in the Jahazi Building on James Gichuru Road in Lavington, Nairobi, it offers a shared workspace, mentorship, and business support to local startups. Over the years, iHub has supported more than 450 startups, hosted over a million people through its programmes and events, and worked with more than 1,200 business leaders. iHub helps young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into real businesses by offering training, workshops, and connections to investors both locally and internationally. In 2024, iHub opened a new, modern twostory headquarters in Lavington, complete with co-working areas, investor offices, event spaces, and a media lab. Today, iHub is part of the larger CcHUB network and continues to drive innovation across Africa with more than US$10 million invested in early-stage businesses.
Successful start-ups: Maarifa Kona supports agritech start-ups in six African countries. Women in Business, which helps women in the tech space with training, networks, and small grants. In 2023, iHub partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to start a threeyear programme that supported 36 education startups.
