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- African startups raised $50 million in March, the lowest monthly inflow since late 2020
- The Big Four countries—Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt—and financial technology startups dominated the first quarter of 2025 funding.
- Female-led startups raised just over two per cent in Q1 2025, while male-only founding teams secured 79 per cent of investments
According to a report by Africa: The Big Deal, African startups raised $50 million in March 2025, the lowest monthly inflow since late 2020.
The amount raised in March is a sharp decline from the $289 million funding raised in January and the $119 million secured in February 2025.
The poor funding in March dragged the first quarter (Q1) 2025 total to $460 million through $100k+ deals (excluding exits), a five per cent drop from the $486 million raised in Q1 2024.
The report noted that Q1 2025 is the second-lowest quarter in terms of startup funding since late 2020, adding that the 52 startups that announced at least $1 million in funding in the quarter aligned with the average recorded in 2023 and 2024.
“The issue is that Q1 2024 already wasn’t a particularly good quarter. In fact, Q1 2025 is the second-lowest quarter in terms of startup funding since late 2020.
“Things are looking more positive if we focus on the number of startups who announced at least $1 million of funding in Q1:52; this is aligned with the 2023-2024 average,” the report stated.
Big 4 countries, fintechs lead Q1 funding
The report also showed that the Big Four countries – Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt –remained the top investment destinations in Q1 2025.
It stated that Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa each attracted roughly $100 million, representing 24 per cent, 24 per cent, and 22 per cent of the total, respectively, followed by Egypt, which attracted $61 million, representing 14 per cent of the total.
The report added that Togo completed the top five list with Gozem’s $30 million Series B funding round in February 2025.
According to the report, almost half of the funding (46 per cent) was raised by fintech startups, which include $53 million for LemFi, $38 million for Naked, among others.
This is followed as usual by energy (18 per cent) and logistics and transportation (10 per cent).
Female CEOs raised just over 2% in Q1 2025
The report further highlighted that female-led startups received just two per cent, that is, $10 million of the total Q1 funding.
It stated that the largest round was a $6.2 million grant to the South African biotech firm, Biologics.
The report added that excluding grants, the share of funding going to female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) fell to a mere 0.7 per cent.
Male-only founding teams dominated, securing 79 per cent of investments, while female-only teams received just one per cent.
Mixed-gender founding teams accounted for 20 per cent, showing slight improvement compared to previous quarters.
On the performance of African startups in Q1 2025, Africa: The Big Deal noted that it is not all bad.
“Q1 wasn’t the best quarter overall, but it’s not all doom and gloom if we zoom back and look at longer-term trends,” the report noted.
African startups raised $2.2 billion 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.
The 2024 cumulative raises by African startups were driven by the $110 million in equity financing by Nigeria’s Moniepoint in October 2024 and the $250 million secured in a Series D round by South Africa’s Tyme Group in December 2024.
Both mega deals shot the startups to unicorn status, increasing the number of unicorns in Africa to nine.
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.
