Africa’s top 20 tech startups (Forbes)

Earlier this year, Forbes Africa named Africa’s top 20 tech startups. No Rwandan company made it to the list: maybe this will spur us into action so as to make it on the continental (and then global) playing field.One of the criteria was that the start-up must have been around for less than 10 years and provide solutions pertinent to the continent’s needs; Forbes also hand-picked these sites based on social media presence.Here goes:MXit: Founded by Namibian techpreneur Herman Heunis, Mxit is a mobile instant messaging (IM) utility with services including social networking, mobile voice clips, multi-media, banking access and other community based applications. Mxit subscribers can also connect to other social networks and instant messaging. It boasts 10 million users.Sembuse: A South African mobile social network & instant messaging platform similar to Mxit.Yola: Founded by South African internet entrepreneur VinnyLingham, Yola is a website builder and hosting service which lets you create your own site with easy-to-use drag and drop multimedia features. It hosts 6 million users.Dropifi:A Ghanaian web messaging platform which helps bridges website owners and their visitors to better analyze and respond to incoming inquiries.Cobi Interactive: A South African mobile software development company that provides mobile technology and strategy consulting for top African corporations; this is done through custom software design and development.FloCash: For anyone with an email address and mobile number who wants to send and receive money across Africa easily, as well as carry out mobile phone purchases.Obami: A social learning management system for South African schools, teachers and students.Bandeka: An invite-only online community where well-educated Africans can connect with other equally successful professionals, thereby building lasting relationships over the long term.Jobberman: West Africa’s most popular job search engine and aggregator.Motribe: A mobile platform enabling users, brands, agencies and publishers across the world to build and manage their own mobile social communities.PesaPal: A payment platform that enables Kenyans to buy and sell on the Internet using M-Pesa, Zap and Credit Cards; it is similar PayPal in that PesaPal partners with banks, Mobile Operators and credit card companies to open options for consumers. Synaq: An email solution for business that provides messaging and security products built around open source solutions.Rupu: A Kenyan daily deals website modeled after Groupon.BongoLive: Tanzania’s first and only targeted opt-in based SMS advertising service; subscribers receive offers and discounts based on their interests.Skyrove: South Africa’s largest independent Wi-Fi hotspot network with over 600 Wi-Fi hotspots in South Africa.Njorku(Cameroon): A career and recruitment services platform focused on Africa.Ushahidi(Kenya): Software development for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping. The focus is on increasing transparency and lowering barriers for people to share stories and democratize information.SMSGH: Ghanaian startup that offers bulk SMS solutions, SMS Gateway solutions and mobile web solutions.Hummba: A social and travel networking website that lets you download free audio travel guides and share travel experiences on social networks directly from your mobile phone.10Layer (South Africa): A CMS system targeting newsrooms.What do Rwandan startups have to consider in order to make the cut in the coming years? Look out for next week’s piece…