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- 38 African startups raised $119 million in funding in February 2025
- The amount is lower than the $289 million raised by 40 startups in January, and the number of deals secured in the previous 12 months
- Fintechs and transport and logistics startups secured the largest deals in February
A new report has shown that 38 African start-ups raised about $119 million in funding in February 2025.
The report, published by Africa: The Big Deal on Tuesday, March 11, noted that the number of $100,000+ deals announced (38) is lower than the average of the previous 12 months and previous Februarys since 2021.
It stated that the $408 million raised in 2025 so far, comprising $289 million raised by 40 startups in January 2025 and $119 million raise in February, is higher than the amount raised in February 2024 ($302 million) and just above the amount raised in 2021 ($400 million).
According to Max Giacomelli, who authored the report, noted that though the number of $100,000+ deals announced so far in 2025 does not compare favourably with previous years, African startups are still on track to have a great year.
“While the number of $100,000+ deals overall announced in 2025 so far doesn’t compare favourably to the previous years, if we look at $1 million+ deals specifically, we see that the 42 $1 million+ deals announced since the beginning of the year are aligned with both 2023 (42) and 2024 (43) numbers and significantly higher than pre-heatwave levels (between 20 and 31 in 2019-2021),” Giacomelli said.
Fintechs, transport and logistics startups secured largest deals
A breakdown of the report showed that the seven largest deals, representing 80 per cent of the total, were all either fintech or logistics and transport deals, which aligns with 2024 trends.
The report further noted that the majority of the largest deals were in one of the ‘Big Four’ countries: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
However, it stated that the largest deal of all was announced by Togolese start-up Gozem, which raised $30 million, comprising $15 million equity and $15 million debt.
Other notable announcements include Khazna’s (Egypt, fintech)’s $16 million raise to expand in KSA; Hakki Africa’s ~$13 million raise (Kenya, fintech x mobility); Raenest’s $11 million series A (Nigeria, fintech); Tether’s (Nigeria, fintech) $3 million seed round + $7 million debt; Affinity’s $8 million round (Ghana, fintech) and Taager’s ~$7 million pre-series B (Egypt, logistics and transport).
African startups may exceed the $2.2 billion raised in 2024
Africa: The Big Deal noted that the funding figures suggested that African startups may raise more than the $2.2 billion in equity, grants and exits raised in 2024.
Recall that African start-ups raised $2.2 billion in 2024 in equity, debt, and grants (excluding exits), a 25 per cent drop compared to the $2.9 billion that was raised on the continent in 2023, attributed to a slow start in funding in the year.
Kenya recorded more investments in African startups in 2024 ahead of Nigeria for the second consecutive year.
The East African region attracted the highest startup funding on the continent in 2024, worth $725 million, with Kenya accounting for $638 million or 88 per cent of the region’s total raise in the year.
The raises came from equity, debt, and grants (excluding exits), with a total of 188 ventures raising $1 million or more in 2024 (excluding exits), which is 10 per cent less than what was recorded in 2023.
The quartet of Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa attracted 84 per cent of all startup funding (excluding exits) in Africa in 2024, similar to 2023.
10 Nigerian startups that raised biggest funds in 2024
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that according to a report by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigerian startups attracted $410 million out of the $2.2 billion in funding secured by African startups in 2024.
The country also accounts for 69.84 per cent of the $587 million raised by startups in West Africa in 2024. These 10 startups secured the biggest funds in 2024.
