Fill in the blank: _____ will be the next Silicon Valley. _____ is Africa’s greatest ICT hub. By 2015 _____ will be an ICT hub. Anyone who closely follows African technology knows the drill. Every month or two, a government official, journalist, or prominent businessman will boast of how his or her city or country is poised for extraordinary ICT greatness. At times, the number of entities claiming to either be or in the near future seems unreasonable. After all, how many Silicon Valleys can African realistically boast in a few years? As it turns out, there’s a massive difference between being Africa’s ICT hub versus a region’s ICT hub.

African competition to be the next Silicon Valley is a driving force for innovation.

Based on measurable figures, such as the contribution of tech to GDP, the number and growth of tech jobs per capita, and prevalence of Internet access, there will always be a top city for ICT. As of 2011, South Africa is considered the top ICT center in Africa using such statistics.

Such rankings, however, are beside the point. The key is to think in the relative – not in the absolute. It’s about where the country has been and where the typical African economy stands. Africa’s Silicon Valleys may not boast the strongest economic numbers on paper, but none are afraid of failure. When TIME Magazine mentioned how “Kenya’s love for IT has earned it the nickname Silicon Savanna,” the article aptly added that the “moniker neatly encapsulates the themes of its rising influence on global technology.” The article never makes far-out claims that Kenya is the IT hub of Africa. Nor does the article cite an abundance of metrics. The takeaways are that Kenya is very tech savvy and will continue to be a hotbed for African innovation.

Similarly, last July, Garreth Bloor (staff reporter for South Africa’s memeburn news site), sought whether Silicon Valley could be reproduced. After examining technology scenes in India, Israel, Kenya, and South Africa, Mr. Bloor concluded that Kenya’s tech environment is a worthy alternative to South Africa and that the Kenyan ICT industry, although not the largest globally, is very promising “given the country’s context”. These last four words are paramount to understanding what is meant when someone declares a nation the next Silicon Valley.

Even if a city like Kano, Nigeria may take over a decade to become a tech hub by U.S. standards, the city could very well be considered a regional IT center by 2015. It’s all about the context within both Nigeria and Africa and other developing nations.

Also, radical ideology may be necessary for Africa’s economic and social success. Not only does innovation thrive on positive attitude, but investors’ interests are piqued through terms like ‘ICT hub’ or ‘next Silicon Valley’. Let the people think their city is the best in Africa if such mentality translates into greater passion and productivity. There’s a lot to be said about pride for one’s homeland. Plus, intracontinental competition to be Africa’s thought leader is encouraging collaborations (and competitions) among various locales. Africa is thriving on these types of harmony.

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Over the past 2 years, we’ve accumulated quite a collection of news stories touting various ICT hubs across Africa. Not surprisingly, all come from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia:

• Oct 12, 2009: Is Cape Town ready to be Africa’s Silicon Valley?
  Mother city prepares for more cliques {Times Live}
• Feb 15, 2010: There is plenty to support this argument. Ghana boasts a stable democracy, excellent ICT universities, at least 5 mobile carriers, and investment interest. Still the future hinges on careful policy-making:
  Is Ghana becoming the ICT hub of West Africa? {Ghana Business News}
• Mar 10, 2010: A look at the impressive ICT programs in Sega Village, Kenya. Another example of an African businessman returning to help his native country:
  Silicon Valley in the Making Right Inside Ugenya {Daily Nation via allAfrica}
• Mar 24, 2010: Evidence supporting the claim that Kenya is becoming a global ICT hub:
  Is Kenya inching closer to being next Silicon Valley? {Business Daily}
• Oct 18, 2010: Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos is still considered an ICT hub, but some businesses are moving out of the area once dubbed “silicon valley”:
  Will the market move out of Computer Village? {Daily Sun}
• Oct 30, 2010: Nairobi’s impressive tech hub, as seen by an outsider:
  Why Nairobi deserves the ICT innovation hub of Africa crown {Business Daily}
• Nov 1, 2010: Advice to the Tanzanian tech scene from a Tanzanian:
  So you want to be the Silicon Valley of Africa? {Afrinnovator}
• Jan 15, 2011: Groupon’s acquisition of SA-based Twangoo bodes well for the nation’s burgeoning IT sector:
  South Africa: Silicon Cape? {Financial Times}
• Jan 17, 2011: Bringing the Silicon Valley mentality to other parts of the world means encouraging start-ups despite the high risk of failure:
  Silicon Valley Executives Seek to Invest in Talent {The East African via allAfrica.com}
• Feb 28, 2011: Is Kenya Africa’s Silicon Valley? {The East African}
• March 2011: An ICT hub/city is under construction near Addis Ababa and will provide innovation for a growing tech industry. {Addis Fortune}
• Apr 2, 2011: Is Kenya ready to handle $7 billion in contracts to build the Konza super city? The tech hub would tie in to the nation’s Vision 2030 campaign:
  Silicon Savannah {Think Africa Press}
• Apr 13, 2011: Video on how Rwanda has become tech-savvy, with a focus on Kigali:
  Kigali’s ICT Hub {CNNi}
• Aug 7, 2011: KISA makes Rwanda IT hub for East Africa {The Korea Herald}
• Sep 29, 2011: Zim: Africa’s ICT hub by 2014 {The Zimbabwean}
• Oct 15, 2011: In Nigeria, the Kano state governor announced that he aims to make the region an ICT hub by 2015:
  Kano to Become Africa’s IT Hub {ThisDay}