A recent report from Africa: The Big Deal, which provides database and insights on start-up funding in Africa, revealed that funding for African startups rose by 182% in February 2024, with $217 million raised.
The increase in funding for February is coming after January was a pretty quiet month, with only $77 million worth of deals announced on the continent.
In February, 38 startups were reported to have raised at least $100k last month in equity, debt, or grants, the same number as in January. However, the total amount they announced is nearly 3 times higher, at $217 million ($156m in equity and $59m in debt).
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The largest contributor by far (51% of the total, was Nigerian fintech transport Moove, who first announced $10 million of debt for its expansion in India. Then afterward, reports disclosed that Uber are currently in talks to invest up to $100 million in Moove. This investment according to reports, could boost Moove’s valuation from $650 million to $750 million.
What the report said,
“As you may remember, January was a pretty quiet month with only $77 million worth of deals announced on the continent. The good news is that things have picked up in February: 38 startups raised at least $100k last month (in equity, debt, or grants), the same number as in January. The largest contributor by far (51% of the total) was Nigerian transport tech Moove who first announced $10m of debt for its India expansion before rumors of an upcoming new round surfaced last week.
“We have been able to confirm directly with one of the investors that the $100 million Series B is indeed happening. There were also 3 announced exits last month: Carbon bought Vella Finance, Auto24 acquired Kupatana and FairMoney might buy Umba. All in all, funding levels in February 2024 were quite comparable to 2020 and 2021.”
Outlook on 2024 Year-to-date (YTD)
With an outlook of startup funding for 2024 YTD, the report revealed that startups on the continent have raised just short of $300 million. 80 startups have raised at least $100k, 38 of which have raised at least $1m.
The continent’s Big Four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, And South Africa), have claimed 86% of all the funding. Nigeria 42%, $123 million, $110 million from Moove alone, Kenya 27%, $ 81 million in the lead, and Egypt 10%, $28m and South Africa 7%, 22m.
Beyond these regions, only Uganda has registered more than $10 million in Funding in 2024 so far. From a sector point of view, Logistics and transport represented nearly half of all funding, followed by Healthcare, Fintech, and Energy, in terms of the number of individual startups raising though Fintech came first (18 out of 80, 23%).