🗺 2022 Map series 🗺 Western Africa 🗺
No, it's not just about Nigeria ;)
This post is part of our special Thursday series focusing on start-up funding in Africa’s five regions in 2022. And you can decide which one is next if you scroll down
In 2022, Western Africa was the region that attracted the largest share of both funding (37%) and number of $100k+ deals (37% also) on the continent. It had already topped the charts in 2021, with 37% of deals and an even higher share of funding then (43%). While the funding raised in the region decreased in absolute numbers between 2021 and 2022 ($2bn vs. $1.8bn, -12% YoY), it is still much ahead of its runner-up (Eastern Africa, $1.2bn).
Nigeria is still the largest market by far in terms of funding (286 $100k+ deals, +14% YoY | $1.2bn, -29% YoY). The country recorded two $100m+ ‘mega deals’ in 2022 - Flutterwave’s $250m Series D in February and Interswitch’s $110m round announced in May - compared to 5 in 2021. Overall, Nigeria has seen its regional hegemony further challenged in 2022 with its share of regional funding down 17 percentage points to 68%.
Most of this dip is to be attributed to Ghana’s very strong performance in 2022 with 47 deals overs $100k for a total of nearly $400m (estimating PEG Africa’s acquisition by Bboxx at $200m), nearly 8x times more than in 2021; Ghana ranked #5 at continent level in terms of funding raised in 2022. Senegal (#6) followed with 19 $100k+ deals (same as 2021) and $112m raised (-50% YoY); Wave continued to dominate the numbers though with 82% of the amount raised in 2022 (with $90m+ in debt secured), and 90% in 2021 (through its $200m Series A round). Further behind is Côte d’Ivoire with a stable amount of $100k+ deals (12) but 3x times more funding raised than in 2021 ($34m vs. $11m). Togo’s $10m is almost entirely to do with Gozem’s $10m deal with the IFC. Mali, Sierra Leone and Benin have also seen some activity. However seven countries in the region have recorded no deal at all over $100k in 2022.
Finally, it is worth noting that Western Africa punches above its weight with a higher percentage of funding (37%) than its share of the continent’s population (30%) or GDP (27%). The same goes for its heavyweight Nigeria (25% of Africa’s funding vs. 15% of its population and 17% of its GDP). The region averages $4.2 of funding raised per capita, which is over the continental average ($3.4pc). For Nigeria, this number stands at $5.5pc.
If you want access to all the deals behind these numbers (more than 800 for the region since 2019), you can find that data and more in our comprehensive deals database (with a discount for newsletter readers). And for the next map to be published in the series, well… Over to you!