Why Madagascar’s Struggling to Establish a Tech Ecosystem

Matina Razafimahefa, co-founder and CEO of SAYNA, an edtech and freelancing platform, says that Madagascar’s tech scene has not taken off because of several reasons including a lack of access to capital. According to Emmanuel Cotsoyannis, director general at Miarakap, an impact investment fund dedicated to backing SMEs and startups in the country, the reason it has been difficult to ignite an ecosystem in the country is that most of the economic activity is centralised in the capital Antananarivo and focuses on providing basic needs, making it difficult to identify startups that can scale. According to Harinjaka Ratozamanana, former CEO of one of the country’s foremost innovation hubs, as well as former general director at the ministry of industry, catalysing the tech startup ecosystem in Madagascar would have to first start with the government creating an enabling environment for the success of startups through the requisite policies.