A new report by Africa the Big Deal, a startup analytics organisation, reveals that Nigerian tech startups have secured 30% of the total funding raised by African startups in the last five years. This amounts to $4.4 billion out of the total $15 billion raised by African startups since 2019.

Nigeria leads the pack, followed by Kenya, which raised $2.9 billion, South Africa with $2.4 billion, and Egypt with $2.3 billion. These four countries, dubbed the "Big Four," have attracted 85% of the total startup funding in Africa since 2019. They also account for over three-quarters of ventures that have raised $1 million or more in the last four years.

Senegal and Ghana trail behind the Big Four, with $392 million and $389 million in funding, respectively. Other countries that have raised over $100 million include Tanzania, Algeria, Uganda, Tunisia, Morocco, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: Africa: The Big Deal

However, African startup funding has slowed down in recent times, with a 47% drop year-on-year in April 2024. The continent is experiencing a funding winter, with African startups raising only $75 million across 25 deals in April 2024. This represents a 22% decrease in deal number and a 47% drop in deal value compared to the same period in 2023.

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Despite the slowdown, there are some positive trends. Two new exits were recorded in April 2024, with Ghanaian health tech Rivia acquiring SaaS provider Waffle and Kenyan transport tech BuuPass acquiring QuickBus. Additionally, two Series B funding rounds were announced in Africa last month, with Kenya-based SunCulture and Pula raising $27.5 million and $20 million, respectively.

Investments in climate tech have also seen an uptick, representing a third of both the number of deals and the amount raised in 2024. This is an all-time high for comparable periods. Furthermore, 10% of funding in 2024 has gone to startups with a female CEO, higher than 6% and 3% during the same period in 2023 and 2022, respectively.