Sub-Saharan Africa continues to show steady progress, with 10 economies improving their rankings in 2025. Mauritius (53rd) remains the region’s innovation leader
- Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 most innovative African countries in 2025.
- The list is courtesy of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
- Sub-Saharan Africa continues to show steady progress, with 10 economies improving their rankings in 2025.
Innovation isn’t just about billion-dollar labs or moonshot inventions anymore. It is also about scrappy ideas, frugal fixes, and the kind of incremental improvements that quietly transform economies. That’s the spirit behind the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, which takes a broad view of what counts as innovation.
This year’s index measures performance using two equally weighted sub-indices: Inputs (five pillars covering investment, human capital, infrastructure, and enabling conditions) and Outputs (two pillars covering knowledge & technology outputs and creative outputs). In all, 78 indicators are used, part of WIPO’s effort to modernise how innovation is measured and to capture today’s increasingly digital, distributed ecosystems.
Sub-saharan Africa climbs the index
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to show steady progress, with 10 economies improving their rankings in 2025. Mauritius (53rd) remains the region’s innovation leader, followed by South Africa (61st), Seychelles (75th), Botswana (87th) and Senegal (89th).
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Mauritius stands out for its vibrant venture capital scene, particularly in terms of VC investor activity. South Africa strengthens its position with high ICT service imports and global brand value.
Namibia (91st) is the region’s biggest mover, climbing 11 places and ranking first globally in education spending. It also scores well in public–private research collaboration and FDI inflows, signs of a maturing innovation ecosystem.
Senegal climbs three spots due to strong unicorn valuations and increased access to microfinance. Nigeria (105th) is one of the fastest risers globally, ranking first worldwide for unicorn valuation and showing growing depth in high-tech imports and VC funding.
Globally, Switzerland retains the top spot for the 15th consecutive year, with Sweden, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark rounding out the top 10.
