After a challenging period marked by declining investor confidence, African startups have begun to bounce back in 2025, with new data revealing strong activity across funding, deal volume, investor participation, and exits.
According to Africa: The Big Deal, startups across the continent raised a total of $1.4 billion in the first half (H1 2025), a 78 percent jump from the $800 million secured in H1 2024. This performance is nearly on par with H2 2024 figures, signalling a strong and steady recovery in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
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Here are five key figures that capture how African startups fared in the first half of 2025:
$1.4 billion in total funding
Startups on the continent secured $1.4 billion in funding during H1 2025. While June alone contributed a record-breaking $365 million, the strongest single-month performance in a year, the overall surge cannot be solely attributed to that peak. Monthly funding exceeded $250 million four times, resulting in an average of $237 million per month. That’s up from $187 million in 2024 and $133 million in H1 2024.
On a sectoral level, equity deals led the way with $950 million, up 79 percent compared to the same period last year, even though slightly lower than H2 2024 (-7%). Debt funding, on the other hand, totalled $400 million, buoyed by a record $227 million in June alone, including $137 million raised by Senegal-based fintech Wave. This marks a 55 percent increase year-on-year for debt financing.
238 startups raised at least $100k
A total of 238 startups raised at least $100,000 during the first six months of the year. This number remains consistent with funding patterns observed since mid-2023, although slightly below H1 and H2 2024 levels.
The report said, “108 of these startups secured $1 million or more, slightly above the recent half-year averages.”
“However, there is a surge in large-ticket deals: 39 startups raised $10 million or more in H1 2025. This is a significant uptick compared to an average of just 26 in previous periods since mid-2022, indicating renewed appetite for big bets in African tech.”
330+ active investors
More than 330 investors participated in at least one $100k+ deal during the first half of the year. Though still below H1 2023 (400+) and H1 2022 (700+), this represents a slight improvement over the 300+ recorded in H1 2024.
Some of the most active names include development finance institutions (DFIs) such as DEG (Germany’s DFI, through the BMZ’s develoPPP programme), Digital Africa (a subsidiary of Proparco), and BII (British International Investment). Other top players are Launch Africa, Partech Africa, Renew Capital, and Investing in Innovation (i3), a new entrant gaining ground.
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21 startup exits in six months
African startups recorded 21 exits in H1 2025, matching or exceeding the number of exits seen in the entire years of 2023 (20) and 2024 (22).
The Big Deal noted that six exits were recorded in June alone, the highest monthly count since 2022.
6 startups tap mega deals
While the majority of large ($10m+) deals still came from Africa’s “Big Four” startup hubs: Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa, H1 2025 saw more geographical diversity. Startups in Côte d’Ivoire (Djamo), Ghana (Zeepay), Senegal (Wave, Kera Health), Togo (Gozem), and Uganda (Furaha) also closed major rounds, pointing to a more inclusive funding landscape across the continent.
