African technology companies with a UK presence are using it for business operations and regulatory licences alongside company registration, TLP Advisory finds in its latest study. Among the UK-affiliated companies in its selected sample, 84% are incorporated there, 47% have an operational presence and 19% hold regulatory licences.

The findings come from Home and Away, the third annual ecosystem report from TLP Advisory, a venture law practice that advises founders and investors on businesses operating across borders. Its release, dated 3rd November 2026, describes research into 100 technology companies across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Morocco, examining their relationships with the UK, US and United Arab Emirates.

For a founder considering expansion, the distinction is useful. Incorporation means registering a company in a jurisdiction. Having an entity there and running a business there are different commitments, while regulatory permission concerns the activities a company is authorised to carry out. A foreign registration alone tells a prospective partner little about the company’s customers or local team.

There is a limit to what these findings describe. TLP selected companies with documented international affiliations, so the study cannot tell us what proportion of all African technology companies operate overseas. The UK percentages apply to the companies with UK affiliations within that sample, not to all 100 businesses.

TLP associates the US primarily with incorporation connected to financing. The UAE has a stronger operational role: TLP says 87% of UAE-affiliated companies in the sample have an operational presence there. It describes the UAE as a base for reaching the wider Middle East, supported by its trade networks and routes for foreign businesses to establish themselves.

The UK combines company registration with operations and licensing. TLP puts the share of UK-affiliated companies holding regulatory licences at 19%, against 3% of US-affiliated companies and 4% of UAE-affiliated companies. Each percentage uses its own destination group; they are not shares of one common pool.

These figures describe different uses for an international presence. They do not establish which destination produces better growth, or whether the permissions held in different countries cover comparable activities. A founder seeking investors may need a different structure from a financial technology business preparing to serve customers in a regulated market.

TLP’s own international expansion predates this research. Five years ago, we covered its move into the UK, US and Canada, with international fundraising and regulation among the needs it aimed to support. Its latest study examines how African technology businesses use those overseas relationships in practice.

The findings also cannot establish that companies are moving away from the US to Britain. A company can have ties to several destinations, and the release gives no comparable earlier-year figures. For founders weighing a UK expansion, this is evidence of how selected companies use a base, not proof that one country is replacing another.

For fintechs, businesses that use technology to deliver financial services, the UK also has potential customers with existing financial ties to Africa. The University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory analysed household-survey data for 2021/22 and found that 40% of UK residents born in sub-Saharan Africa had sent money abroad in the preceding 12 months, compared with 27% of all foreign-born residents. That helps explain interest in cross-border financial services, although it is older survey evidence and does not measure demand for any particular startup.

There is a practical example in money transfers to Kenya. When we covered LemFi’s Kenyan launch three years ago, UK senders were among its customers. The cross-border financial services app lists Kenya among its transfer destinations. Its UK account terms identify Rightcard Payment Services Limited as the English and Welsh company trading as LemFi and state that it has Financial Conduct Authority authorisation to issue electronic money, digital balances used for payments. This illustrates how a UK entity and regulatory permission can support a service reaching Kenya; it does not establish that LemFi was included in TLP’s sample.

For customers, the useful check is the specific permission behind the service. The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial services regulator, lets users check whether a company has permission for the product they want. A UK address alone does not answer that question.

TLP also points to UK investment incentives. The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Enterprise Investment Scheme give eligible investors tax relief when they invest in qualifying companies. Both the investor and company must meet the conditions. For a founder, the potential benefit is access to investors using those schemes; registering a company does not automatically secure the relief or the investment.

There is also support for eligible businesses entering the country. The UK government’s Global Entrepreneur Programme supports selected international businesses seeking a UK headquarters or research and development presence. Accepted founders can receive support with an endorsement for the Innovator Founder visa, a route for entrepreneurs establishing an innovative business. Programme acceptance and immigration requirements still apply.

For Kenyan founders, the study provides context for choosing an overseas base, but its release gives no Kenya-specific company count or destination breakdown. It also omits the destination group sizes and detailed definitions behind the operational and licensing figures. The full report is available through a registration form on TLP’s website.

We think the useful lesson is to assess an overseas entity against the purpose it fulfils. TLP’s findings distinguish access to finance from the work of establishing operations and obtaining permissions. Before committing to expansion, a founder needs to identify the customers or funding the move is meant to reach, then work out the structure and obligations that follow.