Nigeria ranks fourth, as South Africa leads Africa’s startup funding in H1 2025 with $344 million, its best half-year since 2023, overtaking Egypt and Kenya, according to a report.
The data, compiled by Africa: The Big Deal, represents 24 percent of the $1.4 billion raised in the six months.
It said South Africa not only led in total funding raised but also hosted the highest number of start-ups raising at least $1 million (26 deals).
“While it came second in the number of ventures raising over $100,000 (37 deals), South Africa’s performance was buoyed by three mega deals: hearX, a healthtech company, raised $100 million; fintech firm Stitch secured $55 million in a Series B round; and Naked, another fintech, closed $38 million in a Series B2,” the report said.
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Egypt followed closely with $339 million, also marking its best half-year since 2023. The North African powerhouse matched Nigeria in the number of ventures raising $100k+ (42 deals) and $1m+ (21 deals).
The Big Deal said half of Egypt’s total funding came from three deals: MNT-Halan’s Tasaheel raised a $50 million bond, Bokra secured $59 million via a sukuk issuance, and proptech player Nawy raised $75 million, Africa’s largest-ever proptech transaction.
Kenya, once the continent’s standout, experienced a major funding dip, recording $227 million, its lowest since H1 2021. Although it remained in the top four, it slipped to fourth in the number of deals over $100k (30 deals) and $1 million (16 deals). Its two largest deals were concentrated in energy: Burn Manufacturing ($85 million) and PowerGen ($55 million).
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and former VC darling, recorded its weakest half-year in funding since H2 2020 with $176 million, the report stated.
Despite this, it matched Egypt in the number of startups raising at least $100k and $1m, showcasing a broad but shallow spread of capital. LemFi ($53 million Series B), OmniRetail ($20 million Series A), and Arnergy ($18 million Series B) were Nigeria’s top raises.
The current ranking, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria, is the first time this order has been seen since 2020, reversing the dominance Nigeria and Kenya held between 2021 and 2024, Big Deal pointed out.
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However, major pending deals, such as a $100 million round for PalmPay and Moove’s potential $300 million equity and $1.2 billion debt package, could see Nigeria reclaim the top spot before year-end.
Beyond the “Big Four”, Senegal emerged as the only other African country to cross the $100 million funding mark, largely driven by Wave Money’s $137 million debt deal. Other standout deals beyond the leading quartet include GoZem (Togo), Zeepay (Ghana), and Djamo (Côte d’Ivoire).
“Ghana maintained its position as the most active funding hub outside the Big Four, with 14 startups raising at least $100k. Encouraging activity was also recorded in Morocco, Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
“In 33 markets, however, we recorded no $100k+ deals at all in the first half of the year. For 19 of those, we are still to record a single deal over this threshold since we started gathering the data back in 2019,” it said.
