Kenya is the most innovative African nation in terms of technology, its start-ups are the most present in the list of the best companies that employ technology and innovation to have a positive impact on business and society.
This emerges from the annual report released last Tuesday, May 10, by the World Economic Forum (WEF) of which the annual list of "Technology Pioneers 2022" is part.
On the African continent, of the six companies on the list, half are from Kenya.
They are "Access Afya", which provides high quality healthcare for the global mass market, "Pula Advisors", an insurance and technology company that develops comprehensive insurance solutions, and "Sendy", a well-known on-demand platform that connects clients to drivers and vehicles for goods delivery. Below them, which have emerged as the tip of the country's technology iceberg, is a growing block of many small and medium-sized companies that are growing the new Kenya through telematics innovation.
The other three companies that are part of the continental group are Rwandan Ampersand, which is a leading network for the exchange of batteries for light vehicles, and Nigerian Okra, which digitizes financial services for Africa. Finally, there is the only start-up not from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Tunisian HawKar, which develops green solutions for automobiles.
The WEF also recorded a surge in companies led by women, which exceeded a third of the total number of companies listed.
Kenya continues to cement its position as the preferred destination for tech companies after several multinationals entered the country.
Microsoft, Alphabet, which owns Google, and Visa have all established continental headquarters in Nairobi, other multinationals such as Airbnb, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Spotify, Wise, Twitter and Wikimedia will soon do so, as announced by the World Economic Forum.