Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been to Africa on numerous occasions, and sees great potential for the social media giant’s growth on the continent. Along with investment in numerous tests regarding internet delivered via solar-powered drones, Facebook aims to complete the laying of 500 miles of fiber cable in Uganda by the end of the year, infrastructure that Facebook believes will provide internet access for more than three million people.
Airbnb
In October Airbnb has made a commitment to invest $1 million in community-led tourism projects across the African continent over the course of the next few years. The investment from the mobile app-based hospitality booking site will be used to enable a number of initiatives, including an expanded host-training program within South African townships, enabling hosts to use the Airbnb technology and training them in hospitality.
Orange Telecom
In June French telecommunications operator Orange Telecom announced the launch of an African startup investment initiative that will support innovative startups across the continent. Orange has earmarked $56 million for investment, with half of it set to be invested indirectly through funds that specialize in the digital sector, in partnership with Partech Ventures and AfricInvest. The other half of the funds will go towards the creation of a new initiative, called Orange Digital Ventures Africa.
IBM
American tech powerhouse IBM has been investing in Africa for some time, and continues to do so through incubators and innovation spaces. It launched one such space at the iHub in Nairobi during 2015, and is committed to investing $61 million over the next 10 years in a new laboratory at WITS University’s Tshimogolong Precinct tech hub in Johannesburg.
GreenWish Partners
In August renewable energy firm, GreenWish Partners, which is run by former Morgan Stanley executive Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian, announced plans to invest $800 million on solar-powered telecom towers to be built throughout Africa in partnership with telecoms provider Orange. This initiative will begin with 250 towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the course of this year, with future objectives set at 3,000 towers across numerous countries by 2018 and 10,000 by 2020.
Cisco
Cisco is another of the tech companies supporting African tech startups, with specific focus in the acceleration and financing spaces. The company has partnered with Intel and Deutsche Telekom to launch Challenge Up!, an internet of things accelerator for startups. Cisco Capital has also launched a low-rate financing program in South Africa that will assist small businesses to invest in next-generation technologies.
