🔢2024🔢 Kenya claims the top spot, again
One third of the start-up funding in Africa went to East Africa in 2024; 29% went to Kenya alone.
Previously, on Africa: The Big Deal: Start-ups in Africa raised $2.2b in 2024, 25% less than in 2023. Things looked much better in H2 though… Full episode:
After diving into the high-level numbers yesterday, let’s now look at which regions or countries attracted most of the funding in Africa last year, Shall we?
The first thing to note is that the regional split is in fact highly influenced by the country split, as Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa a.k.a ‘the Big Four’ attracted 84% of all start-up funding (exc. exits) in Africa in 2024, just like they had in 2023, and just like they have been on average since 2019. As such, they play an extremely important role in defining regional dynamics.
First off, East Africa attracted the most funding for the second year in a row: $725m in total (-18% YoY), i.e. 1 in 3 dollars raised on the continent in 2024. Kenya alone ($638m) made up 88% of the total raised in the region, and 29% of all the money raised on the continent. It is by far the market that attracted the most funding in Africa in 2024. Large deals in the climate tech space in particular (think d.light, SunCulture, or Basigo) boosted the numbers. Tanzania was a distant runner-up ($53m, #7), followed by Uganda ($19m, #11). There was also some level of activity in Rwanda, Sudan and Ethiopia.
It was Western Africa ($587m, 27%) that claimed the second spot in 2024, after ranking fourth in 2023. Nigeria attracted just over $400m in funding last year, roughly the same amount as Egypt and South Africa. Western Africa is actually the most ‘balanced’ region, where the regional lead represents the smallest share of the total (70% still). This was almost exactly the same amount it had claimed in 2023 (when it had registered a pretty serious drop and lost its top spot). Western Africa was also home to 4 of the 7 countries that attracted between $10m and $100m in funding last year: Ghana ($68m, #6), Benin ($50m, #8), Côte d’Ivoire ($33m, #9) and Senegal ($22m, #10). Thanks to them - and to Nigeria holding up -, the region only registered a minor drop in funding in 2024 (-3% YoY).
🎙️ You’re probably well aware by now, but just in case: Our Linkedin Live is happening on January 16. Our 2024 Round-Up will bring to life the data & trends in start-up funding in Africa. Register here and help us spread the word. Thanks!
In Northern Africa though, funding ($478m, 22%) fell by -35% between 2023 and 2024, mostly due to a -37% YoY contraction in funding (the most acute of the Big Four) in Egypt, which represented 84% of all the funding raised in the region last year. While Morocco ($70m, #5) held up relatively well, it wasn’t enough to make up for it.
Southern Africa ($397m, 18%) suffered a similar drop in funding in 2024 compared to 2023: -36% YoY; and so did South Africa (-34% YoY). There has historically been a lack of sizeable funding activity beyond South Africa in the region, which was even more extreme in 2024 when 99.4% of all regional funding went to the Rainbow Nation.
Only a handful of deals were recorded in Central Africa in 2024, for a total amount ($5m) more than 10x times lower than in 2023.
That’s it for our whistle-stop tour of key regions and countries on the continent. For those of you who need to know what are all the deals behind these numbers, remember that the full data is available here. And that you’re entitled to a little discount, if you click here instead ;)
👉UP NEXT👉 Did you say unicorn?… Two companies raised big tickets in 2024 at a valuation of over $1 billion; do you know who they are?
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