African tech startups raised US$2.7 billion in total funding in the first three quarters of 2022, almost 30 per cent more than the US$2.1 billion banked in the entirety of 2021.
The seventh edition of Disrupt Africa’s annual African Tech Startups Funding Report, released in January, found 564 startups raised a combined US$2,148,517,500 in 2021, a record for a calendar year.
That record had fallen within the first half of 2022, and African tech startups continued to perform strongly from the fundraising perspective in Q3. So far in 2022, 385 startups have raised just shy of US$2.7 billion. This is 28.5 per cent more than was raised in the entirety of 2021, meaning 2022 is already comfortably the most successful yet when it comes to investments into the space.
“That African startups continue to shatter fundraising records at a time when the global venture capital industry is experiencing a downturn is testament to the resilience of the tech sector on the continent and its status as a greenfield of opportunity,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Tom Jackson. “Though we expect the overall rate of growth in 2022 to be slower than it was in 2021, the sector is still on a good trajectory.”
As has become the norm, Nigeria is leading the way, with 123 companies having raised a combined US$858 million between January and September. This is still just short of the US$903,680,000 raised by Nigerian ventures in 2021, though that target will surely shortly be beaten given the current rate of investment.
Egypt comes in second, as it did in 2021, though the US$621 million raised by 84 Egyptian startups in 2022 already represents significant growth on last year, when the overall total was US$446 million. Kenya, in third, has seen US$489 million raised by 53 startups, more than US$150 million more than the US$292 million the country raked in across 2021.
South Africa continues to have a relatively disappointing year compared to other members of the “big four”, with US$297 million raised by 44 companies. This still means, however, that the country is on course to better 2021’s total of US$336,405,000.
Once again, fintech is proving the main driver of investment on the continent, with 137 fintech startups having raised a total of US$1.27 billion so far, already more than the US$1 billion banked in 2021.
You can download the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021 here. The next edition is due for release in January – find out how to become a partner here.
