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Out of a ranking of 1000 countries and 100 cities in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2023 by StartupBlink, Africa dropped out of the top 50 but kept the continent’s startup ecosystem robust with about 10 countries listed from 51 to 100. See their ranking below and how they stand.
RELATED: StartupBlink launches Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2023
The continent showed remarkable outcomes to underscore the pulsating nature of the startup ecosystem despite strictures including less funding. Mauritius and Senegal jumped 10 notches each to occupy the 61st and 82nd position respectively in the globe, followed by Ghana’s jump by 5 notches to tale the 77th position ahead of Cape Verde leap by two notches to be world’s No.78. Kenya stayed neutral as No. 62 – losing and gaining nothing. South Africa lost by four positions to etch out of the top 50.
For Nigeria (losing 3 positions), Egypt (losing by two slots), and Tunisia (a whopping 14 slots), a mix of factors including huge losses in startup funding had impacted negatively on capacity of the local ecosystem to remain unshaken.
Uganda proved to be the new revelation on the continent and on the globe recording more funding and an increasing capacity of its ecosystem to thrive. 98 Uganda (No. 96) and Somalia (No. 98) did not make Africa’s top 10. But they certainly could make the top 100 list in 2024 if they stay ahead the headwinds particularly in Somalia where the political climate is improving.
Africa’s Top 10 Counties in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2023
Global Rank Country Rank Change (from 2022) Total Score
53 South Africa −4 3.002
61 Mauritius +10 2.098
62 Kenya — 1.969
64 Nigeria −3 1.941
67 Egypt −2 1.638
77 Ghana +5 0.725
78 Cape Verde +2 0.715
82 Senegal +10 0.627
91 Tunisia −8 0.561
93 Morocco −14 0.511
From 51 to 100
- Among the world’s top 100, two African countries showed the steepest positive momentum: Mauritius and Senegal, jumping 10 spots to 61st and 82nd globally. With a major leap, Mauritius became the second highest ranked African country in the Index. Both countries are relatively new in the Index, as Mauritius joined in 2021 and Senegal in 2022, and both have shown consistent improvement.
- Following Mauritius and Senegal, most countries with noticeable positive momentum are from the Middle East & Africa region, with the exception of Liechtenstein.
- Sri Lanka improved 7 spots to 83rd globally, while Saudi Arabia and Ecuador advanced 6 spots to 66th and 81st, respectively. Lastly, Liechtenstein, Ghana, Kuwait, and Uganda all climbed 5 spots to 63rd, 77th, 94th, and 96th, respectively.
- Two Asian countries, Georgia and Mongolia, continue showing positive momentum; each climbed two spots to 71st and 79th, respectively. After debuting last year, Kazakhstan improved by another spot to 73rd globally.
- Overall, six countries from the CAREC region (the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) are ranked in the 51- 100 range. Five of them – Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan – booked progress this year, showing that much is happening in this region.
- Some of the most notable declines in the 51-100 range include Morocco’s drop of 14 spots to 93rd, after its 16 spot increase last year. Rwanda follows Morocco with a drop of 11 spots to 95th, registering a 30-spot decline since 2020, and falling off the top 10 of the African region.
- Belarus is another country with consistent losses, decreasing another 10 spots to 80th versus its rank of 63rd in 2020. After gaining 9 spots between 2020 and 2022 Panama could not retain its positive momentum for another year, and ended at 86th.
- Although South Africa’s decline is mild compared to its counterparts, its 4 spot decrease resulted in exclusion of the African region from the global top 50 rankings.
- After two years of moving up in the Index, Nigeria dropped three spots to 64th globally, resulting from a difficult year in funding.
- Uganda is the only country returning to the Index at 96th (after an absence of one year), and Kosovo is the only country that dropped out of the global top 100 this year.
