Study Shows African Tech Firms Favour UK for Licences and US for Funding
A new study finds that African technology firms systematically choose the United Kingdom for regulatory licences while turning to the United States for investment capital, providing founders and investors with a concrete dual-jurisdiction structuring benchmark.
Dual Jurisdiction: a London licence and a Delaware cheque aren't alternatives — they're a system
The TLP Advisory study of 100 African tech companies reveals something founders often discover the hard way: the UK and the US aren't competing destinations. They're doing completely different jobs.
The US gets you the cheque. The UK gets you the licence, the team on the ground, and the customer. Only 3 percent of US-linked firms in the study held a US licence. Among UK-linked firms, 19 percent held a UK regulatory licence — with 47 percent running actual operations there.
That gap is the whole story. A US incorporation is a funding structure. A UK licence is proof you can serve real customers under a regulator's watch. Conflating the two is how founders end up legally incorporated but commercially stranded.
The uncomfortable footnote: this study was funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. London has a clear interest in African founders choosing it. That doesn't make the finding wrong — but founders should read it knowing who paid for it.
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- African tech firms pick UK for licences, US for funding, study shows · techtrendske.co.ke · T2