2024, like 2023, has been a tough year for African tech startup funding, as the sector continues to feel the effects of the global capital shortage.
Nonetheless, funding is starting to return to the ecosystem, giving us hope that 2025 will be a better year. Here, we take a look at the 10 biggest rounds from 2024.
In July, Egyptian fintech company MNT-Halan raised US$157.5 million in funding to support its imminent geographical expansion.
Founded in 2018, MNT-Halan was created to digitally bank the unbanked and substitute cash with electronic solutions. The MNT-Halan digital ecosystem includes small and micro business lending, payments, consumer finance, and e-commerce.
It is now set for international expansion after raising US$157.5 million in capital, with US$40 million of that coming from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Other investors were Development Partners International, Lorax Capital Partners, and funds managed by Apis Partners LLP, Lunate, and GB Corp.
In October, Nigerian fintech startup Moniepoint raised US$110 million in Series C equity funding to accelerate its growth across Africa, making it Africa’s latest unicorn.
Founded as TeamApt in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint is an all-in-one financial ecosystem, helping 10 million businesses and individuals access seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management tools.
As Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, it powers most of the country’s point of sale (POS) transactions. Through its subsidiaries, processes US$17 billion monthly for its customers while operating profitably.
The company’s US$110 million Series C investment was led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund – a premier fund focused on Africa. Other new investors include Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital – a leading African private equity firm. Global impact firm, Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated.
- Moove (US$100 million)
In March, Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, raised US$100 million in a funding round as it plots expansion into new markets. The round was led by Uber and sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
In July, Tanzania-founded fintech startup NALA raised US$40 million to fuel its international expansion and launch its own payment rails for Africa and beyond.
NALA is an African payments company and money transfer app that enables users to make secure and reliable payments from Europe, the UK and US to Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana in seconds. Last year, it launched in the European Union (EU), adding 19 new countries to its list of send countries and aiding its mission of connecting Africans globally.
It is planning further growth, and further international expansion, after raising US$40 million in Series A funding, in a round led by Acrew Capital with participation from DST Global Partners, Amplo, Norrsken22 and HOF Capital, and angels such as Ryan King and Vlad Tenev.
The new funding will help NALA’s consumer business expand beyond Africa, building services for the global migrant diaspora. It was also help build Rafiki, its new B2B payments platform, which is designed to lay the payment rails for the next billion users.
In October, pan-African fintech startup Yellow Card raised US$33 million in Series C funding to drive global expansion and strategic initiatives, taking its total equity funding to US$85 million.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has become the largest and first licensed Stablecoin on/off ramp on the African continent. It has operations spanning 20 African countries and over US$3 billion in transactions facilitated across the continent.
In September 2022 it announced the close of its US$40 million Series B funding round, and it has now followed that up with a US$33 million Series C round, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Polychain Capital, Third Prime Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Block, Inc., Galaxy Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, Hutt Capital, and Winklevoss Capital.
The capital will be applied to fund growth and expansion, particularly through enhancing Yellow Card’s API and widget products – the gateways for international businesses including Coinbase and Block to tap into African markets and for Pan-African companies to easily make international payments and manage their treasury via stablecoins.
In April, Kenya’s SunCulture, a provider of solar-powered irrigation solutions and agricultural technology to smallholder farmers, raised a US$27.5 million Series B funding round to fuel its growth and build new products.
SunCulture helps smallholder farmers grow more food with climate technology, financing, and a digital marketplace. The company has more than 50 per cent market share for smallholder farmer solar irrigation systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, and its solar-powered water pumps and irrigation systems have been transformative for smallholder farmers, enabling access to water, reducing labour costs, and increasing crop yields.
The US$27.5 million Series B funding round attracted a diverse group of international investors – Reed Hastings, InfraCo Africa Limited, Acumen Fund, The Schmidt Family Foundation, and others – as well as follow-on investment from EDF Group, Equator, and the Acumen Resilience Agriculture Fund (ARAF).
The investment will fuel SunCulture’s continued growth, enabling the expansion of its product line, entry into new markets, and further development of its technology platform designed to increase smallholder farmer productivity and resilience to climate change.
In February, Kenyan electric mobility startup Roam, previously Opibus, raised US$24 million in debt and equity funding to help accelerate its expansion across Africa.
Founded in 2017, and rebranded earlier this year, Roam is the leading provider of electric vehicles designed and manufactured locally. Its vision is to create reliable and cost effective products designed for the pan-African mass market.
Having raised US$7.5 million in equity and grant funding back in 2021, the company has now banked a further US$24 million to expand its production of locally designed and manufactured electric motorcycles and buses, fueling its mission to revolutionise African transportation with innovative products specifically designed for consumers across the continent.
The financing includes a US$14 million Series A equity funding round led by Equator Africa, with contributions from At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want, and One Small Planet, among other prominent private and institutional investors. Additionally, Roam has secured a US$10 million debt commitment from the US government’s Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
In September, Egyptian fintech startup Paymob extended its Series B round to US$72 million with US$22 million in new funding, which will enable it to pursue its growth strategy at home and in the wider MENA region.
Founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy, Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions to empower digital financial service providers through mobile wallet technology.
Its omnichannel gateway offers more than 50 payment solutions and empowers close to 350,000 merchants with access to innovative financial services. It has expanded to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Disrupt Africa reported in May 2022 Paymob had raised a US$50 million Series B funding round, and it has now extended that with US$22 million in additional capital. The extension round was led by EBRD Venture Capital with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing investors PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude and Helios Digital Ventures also participated in the round.
In April, Kenyan agricultural insurance and technology company Pula closed a US$20 million Series B funding round to help thousands of smallholder farmers in emerging markets gain access to insurance against floods, droughts, and other climate-related events.
Launched in 2015 by Rose Goslinga and Thomas Njeru, Pula designs and delivers innovative agricultural insurance and digital products to help smallholder farmers endure climate risks, improve their farming practices and bolster their incomes over time.
By bundling insurance with other essential products like seeds and credit, Pula is making insurance more affordable and accessible than ever before. The startup raised a US$6 million Series A round back in 2021, and has now banked a US$20 million Series B round that will enable Pula to scale its operations and significantly expand its reach over the next five years.
In May, Egyptian startup OneOrder, a tech-enabled supplier and wholesale distributor for the food and beverage industry, raised a US$16 million Series A equity and debt round of funding.
Founded by CEO Tamer Amer and CTO Karim Maurice, OneOrder offers the food and beverage industry a reliable, timely supply of quality goods with embedded financing, at a consistent price and without the stress of managing various suppliers on a daily basis, all through a single user-friendly application.
Since its launch in February 2022, upon the successful completion of a US$1 million fundraise, OneOrder has built up a customer base of over 1,300, who are using its web-based platform and mobile application for online ordering and delivery of more than 700 stock-keeping units (SKUs).
It banked a US$3 million seed round in December 2022, and has now raised a US$16 million Series A round led by previous investor Delivery Hero Ventures, with participation from Norrsken22, alongside existing investors Nclude and A15. The company will use the capital to expand into the GCC region, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), later this year.
