TLP Advisory, a cross-border venture law practice with its origins in Nigeria, has released its third annual report, Home and Away: Tracking African Tech’s Global Footprint. The research identifies the UK as a key base for African tech companies, combining corporate establishment with a significant operational presence in a way that sets it apart from other global markets.
The report examined 100 technology companies across six African markets: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Morocco, exploring why they chose affiliations with the UK, US and UAE and what these relationships enable. It found that the US is primarily associated with financing-linked incorporation, while the UAE serves as a base for on-the-ground operations and access to the wider Middle East. The UK stands out for combining these elements with a broader business presence, including regulatory licensing and commercial activity.
This broader presence is reflected in the data. Among companies with UK affiliations, 84% incorporated there, 47% have an operational presence, and 19% hold regulatory licences. By comparison, regulatory licences are held by just 3% of US-affiliated companies and 4% of UAE-affiliated companies.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Odunoluwa Longe, Co-Founder and Partner at TLP Advisory, said: “Most African tech companies have a legal structure somewhere abroad in addition to their home country. What’s striking about the UK is how often it comes with more than only incorporation. It comes with licences, teams on the ground and customers. A round closed in Delaware and a licence in London are both important but they play very distinct roles. Our recommendation to founders is to be deliberate about what they want to achieve in each market, and to build the right networks, partnerships and commercial relationships to turn that presence into growth.”
The UAE plays a different but equally distinct role, with a stronger emphasis on day-to-day operations. Of the companies affiliated with the UAE, 87% of UAE-connected companies have an operational presence there, making it the most operationally focused of the three markets.
Its appeal lies partly in its position as a commercial hub linking the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Established financial and trade networks provide access to regional markets, while free zones and financial centres offer routes for foreign businesses to establish a local presence. This regional pull is particularly evident among Egyptian companies, 70% of which have a UAE affiliation, compared with 50% for the US. Geographic proximity and shared language and cultural ties further strengthen this appeal.
The findings also reflect the different considerations that shape how African tech companies build their international footprint. Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said: “Africa was always going to be home. It was where we understood the nuance of the problem we set out to solve, where our customers were, and where we believed we could make the greatest difference. But we also understood quite early that building a business of this scale would require access to capital, talent, and opportunities beyond Africa.”
For African fintechs, the UK offers a different set of advantages. It offers access to an established market and a large diaspora with existing cross-border financial connections. Recent research found that 40% of UK residents born in Sub-Saharan Africa send money abroad, compared with 27% of all UK residents born overseas.
Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Founder & CEO of Float, a South-African fintech, said: “The UK didn’t feel foreign to us. We’re only one or two hours off South African time, the business culture is familiar, and there are a lot of South Africans here, so we had social capital from day one. The market suits us too: more than 55 million credit card accounts, and a very fintech-friendly environment.”
Beyond its market and diaspora connections, the report identifies four features that strengthen the UK’s appeal to African tech companies:
- Early-stage investment incentives: The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) offer tax relief to eligible investors backing qualifying companies.
- Support for international founders: The Global Entrepreneur Programme offers a government endorsement route for the Innovator Founder visa.
- A familiar legal framework: English common law is familiar in many international commercial and investment contexts.
- Established capital markets: The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and AIM offer potential routes to public markets and future exits.
Abi Ajayi, Head of Middle East & Africa, Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange, explained: “London sits between developed and emerging market investors, and that’s its competitive advantage. A founder can reach specialist emerging-market funds, frontier-market investors, sovereign wealth funds and mainstream institutions through a single ecosystem. We want African founders to see London as more than a place to list. It’s a place to access capital at every stage of their growth.”
Ultimately, the value of these connections lies in what companies can build through them. Hannah Williams, Director of Trade and Investment – Africa, UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) said: “The measure of success isn’t how many African companies set up a legal presence in the UK, but the partnerships that follow: the jobs created, the customers served and the capital deployed. The UK wants to be a long-term partner, supporting founders from initial market entry through to scale, and an eventual exit or IPO.”
Founded in 2014 by Odunoluwa Longe and Funkola Odeleye as The Longe Practice, Africa’s first startup-focused law firm, TLP Advisory has grown into an Africa-first cross-border venture law practice, serving businesses, entrepreneurs and investors across Africa, Europe, the Gulf and North America. The firm expanded into the UK and US in 2021 through the opening of its London office and a merger with New York-based Ollis Law, followed by a Dubai presence in 2024. Today, TLP Advisory supports African businesses scaling locally and internationally, as well as international companies entering African markets, with a focus on helping founders and investors build and grow their ventures.
The full report can be downloaded for free [link].
*These findings describe 100 companies selected for documented international affiliations. They are not representative estimates for the wider African technology ecosystem.
