Young Africans Are Building Businesses Around the Digital Economy

A growing generation of African entrepreneurs is building companies around problems that are deeply connected to everyday life.

Digital payments, logistics, education, agriculture and professional services have become increasingly fertile areas for innovation.

Solving local problems

For many founders, the opportunity is not to reproduce technology developed elsewhere but to adapt digital tools to the realities of African consumers and businesses.

That can mean designing services that work on affordable smartphones, operate with intermittent connectivity or accommodate informal businesses.

The next generation

The expansion of digital infrastructure is creating new opportunities for young people to participate in Africa's economy as founders, developers, designers and digital workers.