Startup ecosystems grow through accumulation. A founder succeeds, employees leave to build new companies, investors follow the talent, and businesses form around the infrastructure created by the first generation.
Over time, that cycle can turn a small startup scene into a place where launching a company becomes normal.
StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 offers a measure of that activity. The index ranked 1,556 cities and 120 countries based on the quantity of startup activity, the quality of outcomes and the strength of the local business environment.
The Middle East and Africa was the fastest-growing region this year, recording 20.2% growth against a global average of 10.3%. But only Lagos and Cairo made the global top 100, underlining the gap between rapid growth and established scale.
Here are the 10 highest-ranked African cities in the index.
10. Tunis, Tunisia
Global rank: 330
Tunis fell three places globally despite recording 22.8% growth. It remained North Africa’s third-ranked city, behind Cairo and Casablanca.
Tunisia’s national ecosystem recorded the highest growth rate of any African country at 36.6%, overtaking Morocco to become North Africa’s second-ranked ecosystem behind Egypt.
9. Casablanca, Morocco
Global rank: 318
Casablanca remained Morocco’s leading startup hub after growing 23.1%.
Morocco’s national ecosystem fell two places to 90th globally despite 30.7% growth, losing its position as North Africa’s second-ranked ecosystem to Tunisia. StartupBlink values Morocco’s startup ecosystem at about $1.1 billion.
8. Victoria, Seychelles
Global rank: 288
Victoria is Seychelles’ highest-ranked startup ecosystem and one of the smaller African hubs in the continent’s top 10.
Its startup scene is particularly active in fintech and digital services, with companies including OKX, XT.COM and Cellula among the leading startups associated with the city.
Despite Seychelles’ smaller market, Victoria has developed an international orientation, with several of its technology companies operating across borders.
7. Kampala, Uganda
Global rank: 285
Kampala climbed 16 places after recording 34.1% growth, making it East Africa’s second-ranked city behind Nairobi and Africa’s seventh-ranked startup city.
Uganda’s national ecosystem posted East Africa’s fastest growth rate at 32.5%. The country opened the Uganda Deep Tech Centre of Excellence in 2025, its first dedicated research facility for AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing.
6. Accra, Ghana
Global rank: 246
Accra, Ghana’s only city currently ranked in the index, grew by 25.2%.
Ghana’s national ecosystem nevertheless fell six places to 87th globally, illustrating how growth does not always translate into a higher rank when other ecosystems are advancing faster. E-commerce and retail remain Ghana’s strongest sector.
5. Johannesburg, South Africa
Global rank: 122
Johannesburg held its 2025 position of 122nd globally, though its ecosystem grew by 8.8%, down from 42.4% in the previous ranking.
It remains Africa’s fifth-ranked startup city and an established fintech hub, even as South Africa’s national momentum shifts towards Cape Town.
4. Nairobi, Kenya
Global rank: 116
Nairobi dropped nine places after growing by 3.2%, a slowdown from the previous year.
The city remains home to companies including M-KOPA, which finances solar power, smartphones and other essentials for underbanked customers across the region, alongside healthtech and logistics businesses.
Nairobi’s ecosystem is more than 36 times larger than Mombasa’s, Kenya’s second-ranked startup hub, showing how strongly startup activity remains concentrated in the capital.
Kenya leads Africa and ranks 22nd globally in agri-tech, supported by the mobile-money infrastructure around M-Pesa. Nairobi also retained the top position in Sub-Saharan Africa for startup community activity.
3. Cape Town, South Africa
Global rank: 114
Cape Town climbed 24 places after recording 39.0% growth, overtaking Johannesburg to become South Africa’s highest-ranked startup city.
The rise was supported by major fintech and insurtech deals. Digital insurer Naked Insurance raised about $38 million in a Series B2 round, while payments infrastructure firm Stitch closed a $55 million Series B and expanded through acquisitions.
Cape Town also holds leading Sub-Saharan African positions in edtech, biotechnology and healthtech. It ranks first in the region for corporate engagement, while OpenAI chose the city to host its inaugural AI Innovation Forum this year.
2. Cairo, Egypt
Global rank: 99
Cairo slipped nine places after growing by 0.7%, but remained one of only two African cities in the global top 100.
Its ecosystem is anchored by MNT-Halan, a digital banking platform focused on financial inclusion for Egypt’s unbanked population. The company has raised more than $1 billion and is the city’s sole unicorn.
Fintechs and e-commerce platforms, including Paymob and property-tech company Nawy, add further depth to Cairo’s ecosystem.
Cairo leads Africa in Startup Community Activity. Egypt’s government also launched the Egypt Startup Charter in 2026, alongside a commitment to mobilise $1 billion in coordinated public-private financing over five years.
1. Lagos, Nigeria
Global rank: 70
Lagos climbed six places after growing by 23.0%, retaining its position as Africa’s highest-ranked startup city for the fifth consecutive year.
The city is home to 987 startups, accounting for nearly 67% of all startups tracked in Nigeria. StartupBlink values Lagos’ ecosystem at $17.8 billion, the highest on the continent.
Five Lagos-born companies have reached unicorn status: Interswitch, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Moove and Cizonet Solutions Nigeria, a technology and workforce firm.
That scale, including nearly a thousand startups and about two-thirds of Nigeria’s tracked startup activity, keeps Lagos clearly ahead of every other African city in the ranking.