Startups across Africa raised a total of $550 million in July 2025, marking the highest monthly haul in over two years and pushing the continent’s total funding for the year just $25 million short of the $2 billion milestone.
This is according to data from Africa: The Big Deal, which tracks publicly disclosed deals.
The report described July as a strong rebound month, with 61 startups announcing at least $100,000 in funding,.a significant jump from the monthly average of around 40 startups recorded in the first half of 2025.
While the headline number signals growing investor interest and renewed momentum, the nature of the funding tells a more nuanced story.
Debt financing was the clear driver of July’s surge, accounting for 89 percent of the total amount raised or $493 million. Two Kenya-rooted energy companies, d.light and Sun King, led the way. d.light secured a $300 million expansion in receivables financing, while Sun King announced a $156 million debt facility.
These two deals alone represented 83 percent of all funding announced in July, further underscoring the dominance of debt in the current financing environment.
Since the beginning of 2025, debt now represents 45 percent of all startup funding raised on the continent, pointing to a major shift in funding strategies as equity rounds grow more conservative.
On the equity front, African startups raised just $58 million in July, the second-lowest monthly equity total this year. Still, that was enough to tip total equity raised in 2025 over the $1 billion mark, reaching the milestone much earlier than last year (October 2024), and almost on par with 2023 (June).
The month also saw broader geographic participation. While 41 of the 61 funded startups were based in the continent’s “Big Four” markets, which are Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa, deals were recorded in a total of 15 countries, including a first-ever $100,000+ deal in Libya.
Despite the reliance on debt, the July figures underscore the resilience and adaptability of Africa’s startup ecosystem in the face of tighter global venture conditions.
