It’s that time of year again, where we kicking it off with a list of tech trends and predictions.  These lists came in hot: Kara Swisher says no more phones among other things,  Fast Company’s Mark Sullivan is sharing 2020 trends from venture capitalists, tech execs, and analysts, and Gartner’s take. 

Now, you’ve got this series. For this to be legitimate, automation, artificial intelligence and ethics, privacy and cybersecurity, and blockchain have to be given a nod at the very least. However, we won’t necessarily dig into all of these hot topics. 

Over the course of the next month, check in with us as we unveil our top 5 tech trends to keep an eye on in 2020 - in no particular order. 

Tech Trend #1: Africa will be more top of mind. 

To close out 2019, thousands of people journeyed to Accra, Ghana for the Year of Return.  This movement was not specific to tech but served as an indicator for the African continent’s continued potential for tourism. But, the regions not just for tourism. It’s a hotbed for tech communities. 

Why? Well, numbers don’t lie. According to the United Nations (between 2017 and 2050) , more than half of the world’s population growth will come from Africa. Additionally, The Economist reports that Nigeria and Zambia are tied for the top nations where adults between the ages of 18 and 64 own or run their own business.

African tech ecosystems have been largely untapped, but that’s starting to change. In 2019, African startups received $1.3 billion in venture capital funding with Nigeria and Kenya leading the way for top startup investments.   And, we saw U.S. tech CEOs venturing to the continent for visits. 

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he’s planning to spend 3 months on the continent - preferably in Ghana on account of understanding blockchain applications on the continent.  

North American tech companies are continuing to recruit African talent. Shopify’s CTO Jean-Michael Lemieux put out a call over Twitter that he’s planning to hire two African university students to work with him. 

In 2020, Africa’s tech communities will garner more attention from exploration visits by tech leaders to increased foreign investments.  We’ll be watching.