Reproducibility package for Disruptive Technologies and Finance: An Analysis of Digital Startups in Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between disruptive technologies and access to finance for digital tech firms in Africa. Through textual analysis of data from Crunchbase
and Pitchbook, the study explores how firms across different age cohorts incorporate disruptive technologies into their offerings in e-commerce, fintech, and information technology services. It uses this information to examine the association between this incorporation process and the likelihood and amount of funding received by these firms. The findings reveal three key insights for African digital tech startups. First, these startups are less likely to incorporate disruptive technologies into their offerings compared to their Latin American and advanced market counterparts, except for mobile payments. Second, the link between disruptiveness and funding is weaker in Africa. These results hold when excluding mobile payments and addressing potential endogeneity using instrumental variables. Third, firms that do incorporate disruptive technologies tend to secure funding earlier, with lower initial amounts, but are more likely to succeed in terms of exit or valuation growth.