In April 2025, African start-ups made a remarkable comeback, raising a total of $343 million through deals valued at $100,000 and above (excluding exits), across 39 ventures.

Recall that last month’s March performance was poor in comparison, though, as only $50m in funding was announced, one of the lowest monthly tallies since late 2020. The number of start-ups announcing funding was on par with previous months, with no deals over $10m announced.

Following a disappointing March, April came in hot, which spurred optimism about startup funding across the African continent. This not only marked a strong rebound from a quiet March but also became the second-highest April funding total on record, trailing only the peak days of April 2022’s funding frenzy.

Compared to the same month last year, the difference is dramatic funding has surged by 4.5 times since April 2024. It’s a powerful signal that, while investors remain selective, they still firmly believe in Africa’s long-term potential.

Several mega-deals helped push April’s numbers higher. In South Africa, hearX, a health tech company, secured a $100 million boost through its cross-border merger with U.S.-based Eargo, showing bold ambition in reshaping the global hearing health market. This union marks a significant moment for Africa’s healthtech sector, positioning an African-born innovation at the heart of a global solution for one of the world’s most overlooked health challenges hearing loss. This deal also marks the first mega-deal of 2025.

In Egypt, Islamic fintech platform Bokra raised an impressive $59 million through a sukuk issuance a major leap from its $4.6 million pre-seed round just a year earlier. Meanwhile, South African payments infrastructure firm Stitch attracted $55 million from existing investors as it scales its end-to-end solutions across Africa. The funding is aimed at expanding its in-person payment offerings, improving its online payment suite, and facilitating its entry into card acquiring.

On the exit front, at least four transactions took place, three of which involved fintech:

• ADVA (Egypt) was acquired by UAE-based Maseera. According to Maseera, this strategic deal positions ADVA as its dedicated technology and data analytics base for North Africa, marking a significant milestone in the company’s regional expansion strategy.

• Nigeria’s Bankly was taken over by C-One Ventures. The acquisition includes Bankly’s licenses, platform, and team, which will be integrated into C-One’s ecosystem to scale technology-driven financial services.

• Peach Payments (South Africa) acquired PayDunya, expanding its footprint into Francophone West Africa. In the process, it enters mainland Francophone Africa for the first time, following its expansion to Eswatini (2024), Mauritius (2021) and Kenya (2018).

Adding to the optimism, over $1.3 billion in VC fund capital focused on Africa has been raised since early 2024. Firms like Janngo Capital (with a gender lens), Airnergize Capital, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Saviu’s Fund II (Francophone focus), and LoftyInc Capital are leading the charge.

Looking at the year-to-date figures, the outlook is equally promising. Between January and April 2025, African start-ups raised $803 million across 163 ventures up 43% from the $563 million secured during the same period in 2024. Funding is also reaching more start-ups, up from 147 in the previous year, with 225 unique investors already participating in $100k+ deals in 2025.

This surge suggests more than a temporary rebound. It’s a sign of renewed confidence and growing breadth across sectors, geographies, and stages. While two strong months don’t define an entire year, the momentum is clear.