TLP Advisory Study: UK Favoured for Licences by African Tech

In Short

African tech companies are increasingly using the UK as a base for licensed operations and customers, while using the US mainly to raise funding, according to a study by TLP Advisory.

What Happened: What TLP Advisory Found About UK, US, And UAE Choices

TLP Advisory, a cross-border venture law firm with roots in Nigeria, reviewed 100 tech companies from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Morocco that have a presence outside their home markets.

The report says the US is largely used for financing-linked incorporation. Incorporation is the legal step of registering a company in a country.

The United Arab Emirates is described as a base for day-to-day operations and access to the Middle East. The UAE is the most operations-focused of the three, with 87 percent of UAE-linked companies running operations there.

The UK stood out for combining incorporation with on-the-ground activity. Among companies with UK links, 84 percent were incorporated there, 47 percent had operations and 19 percent held regulatory licences.

Only three percent of US-linked firms and four percent of UAE-linked firms held licences in those markets.

“What’s striking about the UK is how often it comes with more than only incorporation. It comes with licences, teams on the ground and customers,” said Odunoluwa Longe, co-founder and partner at TLP Advisory.

Why It Matters: Diaspora And Market Fit

The report says the UAE is especially attractive to Egyptian firms. It found that 70 percent of Egyptian firms had a UAE affiliation, compared with 50 percent with links to the US.

For fintechs, the report says the UK offers a mature market and a large African diaspora with strong cross-border financial ties. It cites research showing that 40 percent of UK residents born in sub-Saharan Africa send money abroad, compared with 27 percent of all UK residents born overseas.

“Africa was always going to be home,” said Olugbenga Agboola, founder and chief executive of payments firm Flutterwave. “But we also understood quite early that building a business of this scale would require access to capital, talent, and opportunities beyond Africa.”

Ms Longe urged founders to be deliberate about what they want to achieve in each market.