5 Emerging Tech Hubs in Africa to Consider in 2025
Africa turned to become one of the most in-demand information technology destinations in 2024. It is not surprising that local tech hubs are widely discussed worldwide. According to the latest Future Africa report, the population in African countries is extremely vibrant, with a median age of about 19 years. The number of programmers in Egypt, Kenya, and other countries is ever-growing - ADR 2021 by Google presented impressive figures 4 times higher than in 2022 (about 720,000 IT specialists).
The Statista’s chart proved this statistic with African tech talents’ segmentation according to their location. South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria lead the list of top countries to hire a developer there.
It is possible to find skillful JavaScript, Python, #C, and Ruby on Rails devs for remote employment or search for enthusiastic local freelancers. The rise of experienced, educated, and just talented technicians can be proved by the increased Internet economy potential described in the IFC report, with the expected GDP of $180 billion in 2025.
Needless to say, not all African regions are ambassadors of digital transformations and innovations. Nevertheless, there are five awesome African tech hubs to consider in 2025, especially if you focus on offshore developers’ hiring.
Exploring Tech Hubs in Africa: Where to Start?
You should take into account the leading programming languages in the African countries in which you are going to find a competent technician for your projects. Africa is well-known for its skillful programmers who make a specialty out in:
- Java;
- Python;
- PowerShell;
- CSS;
- Kotlin;
- Ruby.
It is worth noting that the fastest-developing IT direction in African countries today is AI development. According to the Offer Zen survey, the number of devs with high-level skills in artificial intelligence and AI-driven coding grew by 18% compared to 2023. This direction is exceptionally ever-promising in Africa.
Speaking about niches you can hire African developers for, cybersecurity, fintech, IoT, and enterprise infrastructure are the most distinguished. It is high time to discover the best tech hubs in Africa for your successful networking. Meet five of them to take into consideration in 2025.
Five African Tech Hubs for 2025: Review Them All
Let’s check emerging tech hubs in Africa you can visit for networking, sharing insights, or other purposes. The most talented IT specialists can be met there. Pay attention to local conferences, workshops, and other events mentioned for each cluster.
1. Nigeria
About 90,000 technicians live in Nigeria. This is the Motherland of star devs like Egbon, Moyin Moyin, and Ire Aderinokun. PHP and JavaScript are the leading programming languages in Nigeria. However, it is possible to find coders with other competencies there.
The heart of this tech hub is Lagos, with well-known companies like Andela and Paystack. This city will host a yearly IT conference - Fortify Nigeria 2025. Other Nigerian cities that welcome programmers for various tech events are Kano and Osogbo.
2. South Africa
There are about 120,000 developers in South Africa. The heart of this tech hub is Cape Town. Together with Johannesburg, this city hosts various IT conferences (for example, Regional SCRUM Gathering 2025 is planned here). You can visit one of the 19 famous local co-working spaces or the most popular companies like JUMO, Yoko, Naspers, and Takealot.
The leading IT directions in South Africa are custom web and app development. Most tech companies specialize in these tasks. Also, skillful UX/UI designers are located in South Africa. Consider this information for your networking experience.
3 . Congo
This is one of the most vibrant tech hubs in Central Africa. Some people still believe that no competent coders can be found there. Nevertheless, Congo is well-recognized in the global IT arena with yearly events for programmers. For example, DevFest 2024 will be hosted in Kinshasa.
HTML/CSS devs can be found easily in Congo. Note that not all the developers speak English fluently. In most cases, local programmers prefer French-spoken clients, contracts, and tasks. That is why challenges with communication can take place in Congo, which is the top African tech hub.
4. Kenya
This is not only a distinguished tech hub in Africa but also the heart of African technical education. Kenya offers various ways to learn coding and level up your programming skills. Among well-known schools, courses, and educational centers are:
- Zindua School & Strathmore iLab;
- Moringa School;
- African Leadership Accelerator (ALX);
- Ubunifu College;
- Zalego Academy;
- eMobilis Technology Institute, etc.
More than 60 thousand experienced IT specialists live in this country. The main programming languages there are SQL, Kotlin, and Java. Visit Nairobi to plunge into the atmosphere of co-working spaces, IT conferences, workshops, and many more.
5. Egypt
This is not only the hugest tourist center in Africa. Egypt is also a great tech hub. About 85,000 developers live there and can join your team and project as an offshore specialist. Cairo is its heart with numerous companies like eBSEG, FlairsTeh, Do IT, and many more.
RiseUp Summit is usually hosted in Egypt. This is the motherland of the well-known Instabug and SWVL apps. Local devs are skillful in Ruby, Java, and Python. You may try to cooperate with any of them remotely.
Summarizing
Africa develops extremely fast in the context of digital transformations and information technologies. It is possible to find talented programmers in one of the African tech hubs reviewed (Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Congo). Nevertheless, CTOs from the USA, founders from Europe, or project managers from Asia should realize all the possible challenges and issues.
Not all local technicians can speak English fluently. Different time zones can slow down communication and workflows. Consider these aspects while planning your cooperation. You have limitless networking capabilities but more complications in the organization compared to developers from Eastern Europe, for instance. Be consistent, and everything will be OK! 🙂
• PHP expertise;
• Database management skills;
•Jungling traits, methods, objects, and classes;
• Agile & Waterfall understanding and use;
• Soft skills (a good team player, high-level communication, excellent problem-solving background, and many more)
• OOP & MVS deep understanding;
• Knowledge of the mechanism of how to manage project frameworks;
• Understanding of the business logic the project meets;
• Cloud computing & APIs expertise.
• Reasonable life-work balance;
• The opportunity to implement the server-side logic via Laravel algorithms;
• Hassle-free interaction with back-end and front-end devs;
• Strong debugging profile.
• Using HTML, XHTML, SGML, and similar markup languages
• Improving the usability of the digital product
• Prototyping & collaboration with back-end JS experts
• Delivery of high-standard graphics and graphic-related solutions
• Using JS frameworks (AngularJS, VueJS, ReactJS, etc
• Clean coding delivery and timely debugging & troubleshooting solution delivery
• UI testing and collaboration with front-end JS teammates
• Database experience
• Building APIs while using REST or similar tech solutions
• Collaboration with project managers and other devs
• Delivery of design architecture solutions
• Creation of designs & databases
• Implementation of data protection and web cybersecurity strategies.
• Both front-end and back-end qualifications
