Lagos emerges fastest growing tech ecosystem in latest global ranking
By Adeola Ogunrinde
Lagos has overtaken Istanbul, Mumbai, and São Paulo to claim top spot in the 2025 Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index, a global index report that benchmarks 288 tech hubs across 69 countries.
According to the report, Lagos secured the number one spot in the “Rising Stars” category, outpacing established emerging markets like Istanbul, Pune, Mumbai, and Belo Horizonte.
Reacting to the remarkable feat, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described it as a culmination of years of silent but focused hard work, disclosing that Lagos achieved an 11.6-fold increase in startup enterprise value since 2017, with its tech ecosystem currently valued at $15.3 billion.
The city, he noted, has produced five unicorns, including Interswitch, Flutterwave, Jumia, OPay, and Moniepoint, adding that the number of unicorns created has tripled since 2019.
“Between 2019 and 2024, Lagos attracted over $6 billion in direct foreign tech investment, accounting for more than 70% of Nigeria’s total tech inflows”, Sanwo-Olu stated.
According to the governor, as of October 2024, over 2,000 startups now call Lagos home.
He said, “Lagos accounts for 80-90% of Nigeria’s entire startup landscape. 23 of Nigeria’s 28 fastest-growing companies, as recognised by the Financial Times, are based in Lagos”.
Mr. Sanwo-Olu’s position aligns with the 2025 Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem index report, which noted that 38 percent of Lagos’s population shops online weekly, with internet penetration at 72 percent and mobile ownership reaching 94 percent. As indicated in the report, Lagos adds approximately 2,000 new residents daily, with an estimated metro population of over 22 million residents.
