The Zanzibar government and Wasoko, an African e-commerce startup that uses cutting-edge technology to change the unorganized retail supply chain, have officially launched the “Wasoko Innovation Hub.” The new Hub, which is situated in Fumba Town, Zanzibar, will be home to over 500 forward-thinking engineers, product managers, UX designers, and researchers from Africa and around the world and will concentrate on developing top-notch tech solutions that will power Africa’s e-commerce industry for years to come.
The Wasoko Innovation Hub is the first private-public collaboration between a tech startup in Africa and the government of Zanzibar for “Silicon Zanzibar,” a new government drive to entice and bring tech firms from all over Africa to the island. Wasoko is the first anchor company and official private sector representative for Silicon Zanzibar. It is joining the launch.
The new Hub will focus on making tools to personalize client experiences, improve delivery metrics, expand the options for financial services, collect essential data and insights from all points along the value chain, and improve Wasoko’s operational efficiency. It is expected to bring in investments worth more than $15 million over the next ten years, giving hundreds of Zanzibar a wide range of job and career opportunities.
What to Expect from Innovation Hub
Speaking on the launch of the Innovation Hub, Daniel Yu, CEO and Founder at Wasoko, says, “As a Pan-African tech company, Wasoko has been looking for a location where we can bring together the best talent from across the continent and beyond to innovate and develop new products and services for our customers. While we considered more traditional centres such as Dubai and London, we were ultimately committed to believing that Africa’s technology should be built in Africa.”
“Through our new partnership, we’re proud to work with a government that cares a lot about this mission, and we’re honoured to be a founding partner for Silicon Zanzibar. We’re sure that Wasoko will be the first of many tech companies to set up shop on the island.”
The German engineering company CPS is in charge of redeveloping Fumba Town, and the Wasoko Innovation Hub will be a part of that. Fumba Town is being built south of the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, along a 1.5 km stretch of the ocean shore, with hundreds of contemporary homes and businesses being built there.
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The area will be Silicon Zanzibar’s main hub, making it easier to get work permits for qualified computer professionals from all over Africa and the world who want to move to Zanzibar. With direct flights to more than 20 locations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Zanzibar is known as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. To attract IT companies, even more, the government will give them a lot of benefits under the country’s current Free Economic Zone policy, such as a ten-year exemption from corporate income tax.
Mudrick Soraga, Zanzibar Minister of Investment & Economic Development, added that “No longer will tech companies need to open offices and move their people to Dubai or London to manage their operations in Africa.” We are providing an open and enabling environment for all tech companies and their team members to be based in Zanzibar—one of the world’s most attractive destinations—allowing everyone building tech for Africa to be based in Africa. We are excited to officially partner with Wasoko and other tech companies coming to Zanzibar to co-create policies and initiatives that will transform Zanzibar into a leading tech centre for the African continent. ”
Opening the Wasoko Innovation Hub is the latest step in the startup’s fast growth, which led the Financial Times to name it Africa’s Fastest Growing Company in May 2022. This came after its $125 million Series B equity deal in March, which was the largest venture financing round ever raised by an African firm that wasn’t in the financial sector. Wasoko has shipped 3 million orders to more than 75,000 unofficial retailers in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal since its start in 2016.
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Sebastian Dietzold, CEO of CPS, concludes, “CPS supports developing vibrant communities that add value for investors, such as Wasoko, with the core purpose of empowering the Zanzibar people”, and he also stated that, compared to Kenya, Zanzibar had better financial policies for his plan to spread across Africa. Wasoko, which has expanded to six African countries since its debut six years ago and is valued at US$625 million, has lower profit margins due to Nairobi’s high taxes.
“Zanzibar has lower tax rates and better financial incentives.” It is much simpler to obtain work and business visas than Nairobi, “Yu noted.”
Wasoko chose to locate its corporate headquarters in Zanzibar to better communicate with its Swahili-speaking clients in mainland Tanzania, where startup policies are also enticing.
He acknowledged, “Wasoko has been searching for a site where we can pool the brightest talent from the continent and beyond to create novel goods and services for our clients.” He pledged to secure over US$15 million in investment in the island over the next ten years.