Lagos has emerged as Africa’s leading rising star technology ecosystem, with the city’s startup valuations increasing nearly 12-fold since 2017, as U.S. investors increasingly become the dominant source of external capital flowing into Nigeria’s technology sector.
Brandon Hudspeth, U.S. consul general in Lagos, disclosed this on Wednesday at the GITEX Nigeria Startup Festival, where he said U.S.-sourced funding accounted for an estimated 60 percent of all venture capital entering Nigeria between 2015 and 2025. His remarks highlight the growing strategic importance of American capital, technology infrastructure and talent development to Nigeria’s startup economy, even as founders face a more difficult global funding environment.
According to Hudspeth, Lagos ranked number one on Dealroom’s 2025 Global Tech Ecosystem Index “Rising Stars” list, ahead of technology centres including Istanbul, Mumbai and São Paulo. The city’s position reflects what he described as a dramatic expansion in the value and depth of its technology ecosystem over the past decade. “Lagos is the best place in Africa to demonstrate the U.S. partnership in tech,” Hudspeth said.
He pointed to the nearly 12-fold increase in Lagos’ ecosystem valuation since 2017 and the city’s ability to produce six of Africa’s 10 unicorns as evidence of the scale of the transformation. Lagos now has more than 3,300 startups, while the technology industry accounts for more than 16 percent of Nigeria’s overall gross domestic product, according to figures cited by the U.S. Consul General.
The most significant element of the U.S. government’s assessment is the scale of American capital behind Nigeria’s technology expansion. Hudspeth said U.S.-based investors were consistently the largest source of external capital for Nigeria’s technology ecosystem over the 10 years to 2025. “U.S.-sourced funding accounts for an estimated 60 percent of all venture capital entering Nigeria,” he said.