By Bababunmi Agbebi
Edited by Ezennia Uche
In a landmark achievement for Africa’s technology landscape, Lagos has been ranked the world’s fastest-growing tech ecosystem in 2025, outpacing global peers such as Istanbul (Turkey), Pune (India) and Mumbai (India). This accolade comes from the Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2025, an authoritative annual ranking by Netherlands-based research firm Dealroom.co that benchmarks 288 tech hubs across 69 countries.
Lagos topped the “Rising Stars” category in the index, a segment that highlights emerging technology ecosystems showing rapid growth relative to local economic size and global cost-of-living norms. The city’s place at the apex of this list marks a milestone in its evolution from a regional player to a globally recognised hub of innovation.
According to Dealroom’s analysis, Lagos has expanded its tech ecosystem’s enterprise value by an astonishing 11.6-fold since 2017, despite operating within a smaller national economy. Today, the city boasts an estimated total valuation in the tens of billions of dollars, reflecting its surging startup activity and investor interest.
A key driver of Lagos’s ascent has been its remarkable success in producing unicorns, privately held startups valued at over $1 billion. The city is home to at least five unicorn companies, including household names such as Interswitch, Flutterwave, OPay, Moniepoint, and Jumia. The pace of unicorn creation in Lagos has tripled in recent years, an unusually rapid trajectory for an emerging economy.
Between 2019 and 2024, Lagos attracted more than $6 billion in direct foreign tech investment, accounting for over 70 % of Nigeria’s total inflows into the tech sector. This influx of capital has supported both early-stage startups and scaling ventures, helping cement Lagos’s reputation as the nerve centre of technology and entrepreneurship in Africa.
The city’s tech landscape is supported by a dense network of innovation hubs, accelerators, and incubators, alongside government initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure, digital literacy, and public-private collaboration. These elements have collectively helped nurture a vibrant entrepreneurial culture that continues to draw global attention.
Beyond the numbers, Lagos’s rise reflects a broader narrative: that technological innovation can flourish in environments marked by complexity and constraint. Despite infrastructural challenges such as intermittent power supply and high data costs, Lagos’s tech community has demonstrated agility and problem-solving acumen, tailoring digital solutions to local needs while building for global markets.
Lagos’s recognition as the fastest-growing global tech hub in 2025 signals more than momentary success. It highlights the city’s capacity to attract capital, develop high-value companies, and integrate technology into economic growth more broadly. As the ecosystem continues to mature and diversify, Lagos is poised to be a cornerstone of global innovation in the coming decade.
