After two consecutive years of funding decline, Africa’s startup ecosystem is showing signs of rebound in 2025, marking the continent’s first year of year-on-year funding growth since 2022.
This is being driven by both renewed investor confidence and a series of large late-stage deals across the fintech and energy ventures, two sectors that have continued to dominate the funding landscape.
Report by Africa: The Big Deal, revealed that as of the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, African startups had collectively raised $2.21 billion, compared to $2.3 billion for the entire year of 2024. By October 26, that figure had climbed to approximately $2.66 billion, buoyed by notable raises such as Spiro’s $100 million funding round and Moniepoint’s $90 million Series C top-up. This milestone firmly positions 2025 as a growth year for African venture capital.
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Analysts now question whether the continent’s startups can surpass 2023’s total of $2.98 billion. Reaching that goal would require raising at least $320 million in the final two months of the year, a figure that appears well within reach. Historically, funding rounds announced in November and December have exceeded $350 million annually since 2022, as startups and investors race to close deals before year-end. Based on the 2025 monthly average of $265 million, and assuming a conservative 15% of total funding occurs in the last two months, analysts expect the year to close above the $3 billion mark.
Adding to this optimism are expectations surrounding Moove, which is rumored to be finalizing a $300 million equity round and potentially $1.2 billion in debt financing before year-end. Notably, as of October, African startups have raised $1.45 billion in equity, just shy of 2024’s $1.55 billion and close to 2023’s $1.75 billion. With two months still to go, analysts project that total equity funding could surpass last year’s figure, signaling a steady recovery in investor appetite.
Moreover, this growth trend is not merely the result of a few mega-deals. A closer look at four-quarter rolling averages reveals that funding levels have been rising consistently for the past 18 months, reversing the two-year decline observed between 2022 and 2023.
However, the distribution of funding remains heavily concentrated among the “Big Four” markets which include Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria, which together account for 83% of total startup funding in 2025. This concentration, though not unique to Africa, mirrors global patterns such as the U.S., where over two-thirds of 2024’s venture capital went to startups headquartered in California.
Within Africa’s Big Four, the dynamics have notably shifted. Kenya currently leads in total funding (excluding exits), followed by South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria. When looking at equity funding specifically, South Africa takes the top spot, followed by Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya. Equity funding among the Big Four represents an even larger share, 86% of all equity raised across the continent so far in 2025. This more balanced distribution marks a change from previous years when Nigerian fintech dominated the landscape. Today, funding is more evenly spread across regions, with Central Africa still underrepresented in the data.
Outlook
As 2025 draws to a close, Africa’s startup ecosystem appears to be regaining its momentum. The combination of renewed investor confidence, regulatory stability, and sustained innovation across sectors points to a continent once again on the rise. Not only is this catching up to pre-2023 highs, but also laying the groundwork for a more resilient, regionally diverse funding landscape.