African Startups raised Over $475M in January. Promising!
For African startups, it has become clear that the amount of funding committed to a particular sector directly affect the development, quality, and services generated from the sector.
Funding maximizes the benefits available for a sector or unit and transmits a signal that the founders are willing to grow. Whether these funds come as Seed Money –required to get the business running; Cash Flow – the day-to-day expenses and revenues or Expansion – series A, B, C, D to grow new locations, products, a properly utilized funding will yield optimal outcome.
If the current situation is something to hold unto then Africa’s tech space has done the first part of what is required for growth in the first month of the new year. Upon raising the funding bar in 2021 by raising over $4.65 billion in total funding, Africa’s startup space is showing they have no plans of slowing down as more than 85 startups across Africa have raised over $475 million in funding.
Some notable deals have included Brimore’s $25m series A round led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC); Nigerian Bamboo’s $15m series A round from Greycroft and Tiger Global; Esusu’s $130m series B round led by Soft Bank Vision fund to attain the unicorn status; InstaDeep’s $100 million Series B financing; South African mobile gaming publisher, Carry1st’s $20m Series A extension round led by Silicon Valley-based VC firm, Andreessen Horowitz; and other disclosed and undisclosed funding round.
Amazing right? It’s just January and the year is already looking promising for African tech startups. It becomes even sweater that the $475 million funding raised by African startups in January 2022 is way more than January 2020 and January 2021 combined.
As already mentioned in previous articles, Africa needs to unleash innovation that drives job creation, economic opportunities, and expansive access to finance, education, and health care throughout the region. To build technological competitiveness, Africa must stimulate technological learning activities and activate policies that build local technological capabilities.
It’s a new month in a new year, we are ecstatic about what the next big thing to happen in Africa’s tech space even as we expect another record funding year. Here at The Ouut, we look forward to bringing you more information on what is going on in the African technology industry. You can subscribe to receive news the moment it drops by clicking here. CIAO