November Put the Final Zeal to the Ambitious $7B African Tech Startup Funding Mark
As the year comes to a close in the next 26 days, the African tech startup ecosystem is weathering the storm caused by the global economic downturn and inflations, with 25 tech startups across the continent raising a total of $309.87 million in November. This was a significant improvement over the previous three months, which saw 26 tech startups raise $136.87 million in October, 33 startups raise $174.68 million in September, and 34 startups raise $184.2 million in August.
Northern Africa dominates the list of 25 tech startups that disclosed funding in November, with ten startups. The north is followed by East Africa (seven startups) and West Africa (six startups), with only two startups raising funding in the southern African region during the month under review.
In addition, three of the 25 tech startups that received funding in November announced undisclosed funding amounts, with Algeria’s Super App, Yassir raising $150 million in series B funding being the highest disclosed funding in the month.
Furthermore, the ‘Big Four’ of Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya maintain their dominance in their respective regions.
What You Should Know About African Tech Startup Funding in 2022
Despite a drop in the number of funds raised in the last three months, and given the continent’s current harsh macroeconomic environment, which caught up with it in the third quarter and resulted in a 53% drop in funding, African tech startups have raised about $5 billion in the last 11 months, having raised a record total sum of $3.5 billion in 2022 H1, representing a 133% increase from the first half of 2021 and more than $4 billion in the first three quarters.
To achieve the African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s (AVCA) projected $7 billion, which is highly unlikely, deal volume must reach 900 by year’s end, which is more than a third higher than last year, and at least a billion dollars must be invested in the continent’s tech startups within the remaining days of the year. According to the association’s projections for the first six months of 2022, if the growth rate of the first and second quarters had continued until the end of the year, it could end up closing 2022 with a new record year of $7 billion in venture capital funding.
The impressive performance of African startups in 2022 is not surprising; the ecosystem received $1 billion in the first seven weeks of the year. That amounted to more than a quarter of the total amount for 2021, with just over 130 transactions. It took African startups 46 weeks (nearly a year) in 2019 to reach the $1 billion US dollar mark, 36 weeks (9 months) in 2020, and 21 weeks (5 months) in 2021.