BTA Admin Africa’s startup ecosystem is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation.
For years, the continent’s technology sector relied heavily on foreign venture capital to fund its most promising startups. But a growing share of investment is now coming from within Africa itself, signaling a shift that could reshape how innovation is financed and scaled across the continent.
According to the African Private Capital Association, African investors accounted for 45% of venture fund commitments in 2025, nearly double the average of 23% recorded between 2022 and 2024. The figure represents the highest level of domestic participation ever recorded in Africa’s venture capital market.
For Joanne Manda, Global Lead of the UNDP-backed innovation initiative timbuktoo, the trend reflects a broader change in mindset.
“We are no longer waiting for handouts,” Manda said during an interview on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali. “We are getting our hands dirty and actually doing the work.”
That philosophy sits at the heart of timbuktoo, an ambitious pan-African platform designed to strengthen startup ecosystems, nurture innovation, and build the infrastructure needed to support entrepreneurship across all 54 African countries.
Building Africa’s startup infrastructure
While much of the conversation around African technology focuses on funding rounds and unicorn valuations, Manda argues that the real challenge lies deeper within the ecosystem.
The continent does not suffer from a lack of capital, she says. Instead, the problem is that traditional financing models often fail to align with the realities of African markets, where informal economic activity accounts for the majority of transactions and many startups emerge from unconventional environments.
“We need to rethink how capital is deployed and how financial systems support African businesses,” she said.
To address those gaps, timbuktoo has built an ecosystem that extends beyond startup financing.
The initiative currently operates six thematic innovation hubs across sectors including fintech, healthtech, and mining technology. It has trained more than 3,400 innovators and established a growing network of University Innovation Pods, known as Unipods, designed to cultivate entrepreneurial talent and technical skills.
The model aims to solve one of the biggest challenges repeatedly identified by investors across Africa: the shortage of skilled talent capable of building and scaling high-growth businesses.
Why talent has become Africa’s startup bottleneck
As African startup ecosystems mature, investors increasingly point to talent—not funding—as the most significant barrier to growth.
Many founders struggle to recruit experienced managers, engineers, researchers, and product specialists needed to expand their businesses beyond the early stages.
Manda believes part of the problem lies in education systems that were originally designed to produce workers rather than innovators.
“Our education systems need to encourage experimentation, curiosity and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Through its Unipod network, timbuktoo is attempting to bridge that gap by creating spaces where students and young entrepreneurs can develop practical skills, test ideas, build prototypes, and gain exposure to emerging technologies.
The organisation currently operates in 17 countries, with more than two dozen innovation hubs already active across the continent.
Governments are beginning to see innovation differently
Another encouraging development, according to Manda, is the growing willingness of African governments to support entrepreneurship and technology-driven development.
Governments that once viewed youth unemployment primarily as a social challenge are increasingly seeing young innovators as a source of economic opportunity.
Several countries have partnered with timbuktoo to support sector-specific innovation initiatives, including fintech programmes in Nigeria, healthtech development in Rwanda, and mining technology projects in Zambia.
The shift reflects a broader recognition that startups, digital innovation, and technology entrepreneurship will play a critical role in creating jobs for Africa’s rapidly growing population.
However, Manda warns that governments must accelerate investments in digital infrastructure if they hope to fully participate in future technological revolutions.
Unlocking Africa’s own capital
Beyond startups and governments, Manda sees one of Africa’s biggest opportunities in mobilising local capital.
She points to the continent’s pension funds, insurance companies, and institutional investors, which collectively manage trillions of dollars in assets but remain largely underrepresented in venture capital and innovation financing.
Unlocking even a small portion of those funds for entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and technology development could significantly reduce Africa’s dependence on foreign investment.
The steady rise in domestic venture funding suggests that change may already be underway.
High-net-worth individuals, family offices, and local investment firms are increasingly backing African startups, driven by both financial returns and a desire to support economic development closer to home.
Africa’s next leap may come faster than expected
Despite ongoing challenges, Manda remains optimistic about Africa’s future.
With the world’s youngest population, expanding digital adoption, and a growing pool of entrepreneurs, she believes the continent is laying the foundations for a new era of innovation-led growth.
Rather than experiencing gradual progress, she predicts Africa could undergo a rapid technological transformation once the necessary talent, infrastructure, and capital systems fall into place.
“If we get the foundations right,” she said, “the leap forward won’t be incremental. It will be sudden.”
As local investors increase their participation, governments deepen their support, and innovation platforms expand across the continent, Africa’s startup ecosystem appears to be moving toward a future increasingly built—and financed—from within.
