![]() Italy was the first country to enact a startup act in 2012, and it’s just one of three countries outside Africa to have done so. But policy frameworks which specifically target high-growth startups are not many. Laws that contain startup-friendly policies have been the norm, with notable examples in France, India, and Israel. You are more likely to see it in “smaller” economies looking to foster growth. What’s interesting is that startup acts are not so popular outside Africa. Yet they seem to need this form of regulation the most. African countries don’t even rank among the world’s top ten nations for tech. Africa is not the only place where tech is popular. So it was only necessary that lawmakers and regulators position themselves for this reality.īut the other, less discussed answer, is that Africa needs startup acts more than anyone else. ![]() ![]() At the same time, funding is pouring in like never before. There is more willingness among Africa’s young population to either start tech careers or businesses. The easiest answer is that African tech has reached a fast-growth trajectory in recent years. Why is this trend becoming so popular in Africa? And in its announcement, it mentioned studying Tunisia. Then in September 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo followed suit, with President Felix Tshisekedi signing it into law.Ĭote D’Ivoire, the most taxed nation, recently joined the bandwagon, announcing that a startup act is in the pipeline. ![]() This took them ahead of Kenya, whose parliament has approved its Startup Act since December 2021 but is still awaiting a presidential signature. But last year, Nigeria became the next to sign a Startup Act into law. Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Uganda were also among the first countries that announced talks about creating a Startup Act. Its framework gives an eight-year tax break, salaries for founders in the first year of running the startup, one year of leave for employees looking to start a business, and exemptions from capital gains tax for investors. Its activities significantly contribute to economic growth.Īlso, Tunisia’s Startup Act pioneered the culture of providing incentives for startup founders and employees.It has an innovative business model, preferably technologically based, and.More than two-thirds of its shareholders be founders, angel or hedge fund investors,.The company has less than 100 employees,.The company has not existed for up to eight years,.This move by both countries helped others gain clarity on defining a startup. Senegal followed suit in 2019, paving the way for many others to propose startup bills. Tunisia was the first African country to launch a Startup Act in 2018. It aims to create a framework that helps solve problems around funding, infrastructure, and uncertain policies. A startup act is a piece of legislation meant to create an enabling environment for high-growth technology-enabled businesses, i.e. In recent years, adopting startup acts has also become a pattern. And when you realise that policy innovation is also contagious, the saying that “Africa is a country” might not sound so strange anymore. It’s the business ecosystems evolving in similar patterns.Īfrica has often caught the same fever of tech waves in the past. This same concept is playing out before our eyes in Africa. For example, sharks and dolphins have akin streamlined body shapes and fins for swimming, despite coming from very different evolutionary lineages. One example is convergent evolution- the process by which different species in different parts of the world evolve similar traits independently. Whether or not you believe in the theory of evolution, you can’t deny that some of its concepts are fascinating.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |