Tick... Tick... Boom! Q1 results are in.

Start-ups in Africa have raised $1.8b in Q1-22, 2.5x the amount raised in Q1-21

Somehow we’re already three months into the year, which means it’s time to look at Q1 numbers. And if you’ve been following us, you know already they’re pretty phenomenal ($1bn in 7 weeks, remember?). Start-ups in Africa have raised over $1.8b in Q1 2022, breaking the record established in Q3-21 by just a few millions. It is probably only a matter of days until the $2bn mark is reached. Compared to last year, there’s been 2.5x more funding raised in Q1-22 than in Q1-21. But, how is this funding distributed geographically? The ‘Big Four’ still attract the vast majority of the funding ($1.5b, 83%), with Nigeria leading the way ($600m) followed by Kenya ($482m), South Africa ($228m) and Egypt ($202m). The performance of Kenya is particularly impressive, as there’s already been more funding raised in 2022 there than in 2021 ($412m). If we look at YoY growth now (comparing Q1-22 to Q1-21), the best performer out of the Big Four is Egypt (x4.9 YoY), followed by Kenya (x3.7 YoY) and Nigeria (x2.3 YoY). The only cloud in the sky is South Africa where start-ups have raised less in Q1-22 than in Q1-21 (-16% YoY). But still, they have three more quarters to make up for it. Finally, the best YoY performance really comes from outside of the ‘Big Four’ where Q1-22 funding has reached $306m (x7.7 YoY), which is 50% more than the funding raised there in Q1-19, Q1-20 and Q1-21 combined.

Now this is the bit at the end where I tell you that all this activity is exciting to track and so encouraging (because it is!) and where I remind you that all the data behind the analysis I make is available for a small fee (a small discounted fee even, if you use the link provided) in our database. Feedback and questions are always welcome (though I’ll admit I’m already getting quite a few, so bear with me…).

One more thing before you go: If you’re an African SME - or know one - with $1.25m+ in annual revenue, looking for growth or working capital through debt investments, AfricInvest is actively building its pipeline of debt deals on its DealRoom hosted by Asoko Insight. Sounds interesting?…