A slow start of the year... [Jan 2024]

With $77m raised, January 2024 was the quietest January since we started tracking the data in 2019

After bringing you extensive analysis of start-up investments in Africa in 2023 throughout January, it is time for us to look at what happened on the continent last month… And well, it’s not been the most exciting start of the year: we identified 38 $100k+ deals worth a combined $77m+, making January 2024 the second-lowest month in terms of fundraising announced since early 2021 (only March 2023 recorded lower numbers).

Three 8-digit deals (or just about) made up 38% of the amount raised on the continent last month: Yodawy (healthtech, Egypt, $10m), Apollo Agriculture (agritech, Kenya, $10m), and Hatch Africa (agritech, pan-African, $9.5m). Equity represented 74% of the funding announced, with the rest (26%) raised as debt ($20m in total through 5 transactions including Hatch Africa’s and $7m to Sun King). There was only one public exit: Egyptian edtech Orcas’ acquisition by Baim, for an undisclosed amount.

The three sectors that attracted the most funding were Agriculture & Food ($24m through 5 deals, inc. Apollo Agriculture and Hatch Africa), Healthcare ($14m through 4 deals inc. Yodawy) and Fintech ($13m), though Fintech represented the largest number of deals (10). Climate Tech-related deals (across various sectors) amounted for 21% of the total raised ($16m), a lower share if we compare to 2023 overall.

While the same number of $100k+ deals were announced in Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria (8 each), from an amount’s point of view, Egypt and Kenya were clearly in the lead, with $24m raised each (72% of the total raised that can be tagged to a specific country (i.e. excluding Hatch Africa)). South Africa came third ($7m through 3 deals) and Nigeria fourth ($5m). Combined, 90% of the funding went to the Big Four, where 75% of all deals were announced.

This is probably not the most encouraging way to start the year, but let’s not jump to conclusions. While January numbers might be disappointing for some, there are still 11 months to go, and many good ventures raising and investors looking at deploying capital out there. While we wait for February to deliver better news, you can continue to access our database using this discount code, and share your own analysis with us. If it piques our interest, we might even invite you to guest blog, who knows ;)