Africa has made its international IPO debut. Pan-African e-commerce firm Jumia—a $1 billion-valued firm—started buying and selling stay on the NYSE final week.
The inventory providing made Jumia the primary upstart working in Africa to record on a serious international alternate.
This raises expectations for unicorns and IPOs to create the continent’s first wave of startup moguls. But not like different markets, large public listings and nine-figure valuations may stay uncommon in Africa.
The rise of enterprise arms and startup acquisitions will issue extra prominently than IPOs in creating Africa’s early startup successes.
I’ll break down why. First, a fast briefer.
Primer on African tech
Not everybody could also be conscious, however sure, Africa has a booming tech scene. When measured by financial values, it’s minuscule by Shenzen or Silicon Valley requirements.