The government of Zanzibar has set out to become a home of African tech, launching its own “Silicon Valley” located in Fumba Town – Zanzibar, on 30th August 2022.
Silicon Zanzibar is a new initiative to attract and relocate tech companies across Africa to the island. The initiative led by the Ministry of State, President’s Office Labor, Economic Affairs & Investment Zanzibar in partnership with Wasoko – Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce company will streamline the issuance of work visas, and offer incentives such as exemption of corporate tax for ten years under Zanzibar’s existing Free Economic Zone program to skilled tech workers/ companies from across Africa and beyond to relocate to Zanzibar. Mr. Daniel Yu- founder and CEO of Wasoko, is ultimately committed to the belief that technology for Africa should be built in Africa.
In addition to strengthening Wasoko’s operational efficiency, the new Hub will specialize in developing tools to personalize customer experiences, improve delivery metrics, expand financial services options as well as collect key data and insights from across the value chain. Over the next 10 years, it is expected to secure over $15mn worth of investment providing hundreds of Zanzibaris with a wealth of employment and career opportunities.
The physical base of Silicon Zanzibar will be located in Fumba Town, the flagship development of German engineering firm CPS, which is constructing thousands of modern residential and commercial units along a 1.5km stretch of seashore on the southwest coast of Zanzibar, just 9km away from Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. Sebastian Dietzold, CEO of CPS, added “CPS supports developing vibrant communities that add value for investors, such as Wasoko, with a core purpose of empowering the Zanzibar people and businesses”.
