Go Global Africa 2020 UK’s International Tech Hub Network

Africa is home to a rapidly growing tech sector. Nigeria’s tech sector generates more than 10% of the country’s economic output and the sector is projected to create three million jobs and generate $88 billion by for the local economy by 2021.

Kenya’s technology sector is growing rapidly and is more than 11% of the country’s economic output and is considered one of the most vibrant, advanced and successful in Africa.

South Africa attracted a record amount of investment in tech of any African country – in 2017, raising almost $168m and research by the World Economic Forum ranks it as the best place to do business in Africa.

Programme details

Go Global Africa aims to give the entrepreneurs from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa who have developed products that are ready to go to market and raised investment the tools they need to grow their business globally, build links with the UK’s thriving digital sector and pave the way for future economic partnerships.

The 15 most promising startups, as determined by in-country pitch events, will come to the UK in March 2020. Here, they will benefit from a 5-day training programme designed to improve business skills and capability, build links with the UK’s thriving tech sector, and work with UK expertise to grow their business.

The successful African startups will be expected to act as Go Global champions and share the skills they have learned with other firms across the continent. This will help spread digital skills, digital capability and increase entrepreneurial spirit, creating jobs and prosperity.

Go Global Africa is part of the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund Digital Access Programme led by the Department for International Development and is delivered in partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to help boost digital.

The Digital Access Programme aims to boost digital skills and connectivity for people in the local community and build the cybersecurity capacity of partner countries. It will also help create a thriving digital ecosystem that will stimulate innovations to address local development challenges and create local skilled jobs and generate partnerships between the UK and Africa.

The scheme will help firms in the host country make links with UK startups in new markets and benefit from the expertise in our booming tech ecosystem worth £184 billion to the economy every year.

INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB NETWORK

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is establishing an International Tech Hub Network (ITHN), as part of the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme. Tech Hubs are expert teams which work with partner countries to stimulate local digital economies, build high-end digital skills, and forge innovation partnerships between local tech sectors and international businesses.

Hubs will be located in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, India, Brazil and Indonesia alongside the existing UK-Israel Tech Hub.

GO GLOBAL

Go Global, originally developed by the UK-Israel Tech Hub, aims to provide innovative startups using technology to tackle local challenges with the tools needed to expand globally. The programme helps startups to improve their business skills and capability, build links with the UK’s thriving tech sector, and work with UK expertise to grow their business. Following the programme, participants become Go Global Champions, cascading new ideas to their local ecosystem resulting in an improved ability to provide digital solutions to local problems.

Go Global Africa 2019 (March – April) was the first Go Global to launch across the International Tech Hub Network, followed by Go Global India (October – December).