In 2024, Nigerian tech startups received $410 million, but it was insufficient to overtake Kenya, which had surpassed Nigeria in fundraising since 2023.
This was stated in a funding report by ‘Africa: The Big Deal‘.
With just two significant deals—Moove’s $110 million, which included a $100 million Series B round led by Uber, and Moniepoint’s $110 million Series C round—Nigerian startups raised $410 million, which is almost the same amount of money raised in 2023 ($400 million).
Despite a reduction in total funding throughout the continent year over year, the report showed that the African startup ecosystem demonstrated resilience in 2024, with East Africa emerging as the leading force for the second consecutive year, attracting $725 million in financing, or 33% of the continent’s $2.2 billion total.
East Africa maintained its top spot. Despite the 18% year-over-year drop, the region’s total funding was higher than others’. In 2024, Kenya emerged as the continent’s top startup investment market, contributing $638 million, or 88% of East Africa’s total.
Significant investments in climate tech businesses like d.light, SunCulture, and Basigo were the driving force behind Kenya’s success.
Tanzania ($53 million) and Uganda ($19 million), which rank seventh and eleventh on the continent, respectively, made lower contributions to the region’s overall financing total.
West Africa: A well-rounded recovery
With $587 million, or 27% of Africa’s overall financing in 2024, West Africa rose to the second position.
Following the 2023 loss of the top spot, the region had a slight decline of 3% year over year, which was a major improvement.
“Nigeria led the region, securing over $400 million in funding, on par with Egypt and South Africa.
“However, West Africa demonstrated remarkable diversity, with four countries—Ghana ($68 million), Benin ($50 million), Côte d’Ivoire ($33 million), and Senegal ($22 million)—contributing to the region’s success,” an excerpt from the report seen by 9am News Nigeria read.
North Africa
Funding for North Africa precipitously decreased, falling 35% year over year to $478 million.
Egypt, the leading country in the region, saw a much more drastic drop of 37%, accounting for 84% of all investment in North Africa. But Morocco maintained its position, obtaining $70 million, making it the continent’s fifth-largest beneficiary of aid.
Egypt saw a decline too. With funding falling 36% year over year to $397 million.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa experienced comparable difficulties. South Africa had a 34% decrease yet still received an overwhelming 99.4% of all financing in the region.
This emphasizes how historically dependent the region has been on South Africa, with little assistance from other nations.
Central Africa
With only $5 million raised in 2024, Central Africa got the least amount of financing, more than ten times less than its 2023 total. The fact that the region’s contribution was so small highlights how dominant Africa’s Big Four markets are.
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