Nairobi Ranked 2nd Best City to Thrive in

Nairobi is among top-ranking cities in Africa where start-ups can thrive according to StartupBlink’s index for 2021.

The index, which ranks how African cities are receptive to start-ups, placed Nairobi in the second position behind Lagos in Nigeria.

According to the report, Nairobi is a hub of technology and is a beloved destination of multi-nationals and investors aiming to make inroads into the continent.

Among big tech companies headquartered in Nairobi include Larry Ellison’s Oracle Corporation, Cisco, IBM, Coca-Cola and Google.

The ranking further indicated that the shift was influenced by the tourism reputation of the city as well as its robust growth.

“Nairobi, the second-highest rated African city in 2021, is home to the African headquarters of global heavyweights like Cisco, IBM, Coca-Cola and Google, a fact at least in part attributable to its reputation as a tourism as well as a financial hotspot.

“In terms of homegrown achievements, institutions like the Nairobi Securities Exchange, one of the biggest African stock exchanges, make Nairobi fertile ground for investors,” read the statement in part.

Lagos, on the other hand, led the pack largely because of the size of its metropolitan area and that it was inching closer to becoming a 24-hour economy.

“Lagos, for example, is not only the biggest metropolitan area in Africa but has also made a name for itself as a tech hub rapidly advancing towards a 24-hour economy, generating ten percent of Nigeria’s total GDP of $432.3 billion (Ksh49 trillion),” added the statement.

The Nigerian city led after racking up 4.69 points followed by Nairobi at 4.28. Others were Cape Town (4.05), Johannesburg (3.86), Cairo (2.73), Kigali (1.21), Accra (1.11) and Tunis (0.72).

Cape Town and Johannesburg profited from the economic standing of South Africa, which led all African countries in terms of GDP for decades.

The ranking was based on quantity including the number of start-ups or accelerators as well as quality in terms of the number of unicorns and pantheons. The national economic indicators in business scores were also a major factor.