African startups undervalued globally due to poor storytelling, report says

Despite the growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem in the last decade, startups on the continent continue to struggle with being overlooked and misunderstood on the global stage due to poor storytelling narrative on their transformative innovations and solutions, according to a new report by Talking Drum Communications, a public relations consultancy.

The report said strategic narrative is now essential for attracting investors’ confidence, credibility, and long-term growth, and is to be treated as a priority. However, it noted that many African startups are failing to devise a strategic infrastructure to communicate their functionality effectively to global stakeholders, leaving a huge perception gap that could serve as a potential driver of their growth, making them misrepresented and undervalued.

It cited a 2021 Village Capital report that ranked communications as one of the most underfunded capabilities among African startups, just behind talent and product development. It added that limited visibility, which fuels inaccurate understanding of startups’ value propositions, affects startups’ ability to attract funding, talent, and credibility.

According to the report, in many cases, African startups rely on their founders’ personal journey to tell their story. While compelling in the early stages, it stated that it could lead to a one-dimensional narrative that fails to reflect the company’s broader mission, vision, or social impact. “…over reliance on this can overshadow the company’s broader mission and impact,” especially in complex sectors like B2B infrastructure or health logistics.

It also highlighted the dangers of product-led storytelling, focusing on what the company does, from products, features, and services, instead of why they matter. This approach, it says, may appeal to early adopters but often alienates investors, regulators, or the broader public who are more interested in mission, values, and societal relevance.

According to research cited from McKinsey & Company, many international investors and partners often lack confidence in African startups due to outdated narratives, fragmented information, and ingrained biases. Stated that even high-performing startups are often undervalued or overlooked, because their stories aren’t reaching or resonating with the global stakeholders.

“Companies that neglect purpose and impact-led narratives risk being seen as interchangeable, forgettable, or irrelevant in the long term. In contrast, those that centre their communications on real-world outcomes, community impact, or societal relevance often build deeper trust, stronger emotional resonance, and more enduring brand equity,” the report said.

It also outlines several success cases where storytelling has helped African tech companies overcome credibility barriers and sustain market leadership. Zipline, the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, has used narrative to position its drone-based medical supplies system not as flashy tech, but as essential healthcare infrastructure. Now, expanded from Rwanda to other African countries, including Ghana, where it has impacted a 56% drop in maternal deaths and a 25% increase in skilled deliveries in the country’s Ashanti Region.

Duplo, a B2B payments infrastructure company, took a data-led approach to simplify and digitise how African businesses make and receive payments, making it a trusted financial partner in a region where informal processes, fragmented data, and legacy systems still dominate.

As a new class of tech firms is emerging with strategic narratives, the report identifies that owned media, proactive PR strategy, executive visibility, and cross-market and differentiated narratives are the core strategies to improve public and stakeholders’ perception and confidence.

To help African tech firms operationalise the insights in the report, Talking Drum proposes two practical frameworks: the Narrative Maturity Ladder (NLM), which maps how companies could evolve from startup to legacy institution with effective communication and storytelling, while the Return on Investment Model (ROI)  which will help them to measure how strategic storytelling and stakeholder engagement impact them in four core areas of enterprise value: brand equity,  deal flow, crisis resilience, and employer reputation.

The report advised founders, investors, and the communication team to define “why,” fund startups’ storytelling as part of value creation, and charge the communication team with a strategic narrative to align with growth goals and stakeholder expectations.

Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com