Nigeria led the countries that received much of the $4.7 billion funding that African startups got last 2021. According to a new report by Briter Intelligence, this indicates further growth for the sector.
The total amount raised by African startups in 2021 was twice as much as the total amount raised by African companies in 2020, and the total number of transactions announced last year was 25% more than the number announced in 2020.
In terms of fund destinations, Nigeria was followed by South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt.
According to the research, some of the finance arrangements, which totaled over 240, were expected to total $4.9 billion in the year under examination.
While commenting on the findings, Mr Dario Giuliani, Director of Briter Bridges, stated that the massive money raised last year was evidence of Africa’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination.
“The fact that Africa is approaching $5 billion in known funding in 2021, especially after nearly twenty-four months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, is a clear sign that the continent is undergoing tangible changes, and the increasing presence of local exits and returns is shaping the continent’s attractiveness,” he said.
Fintech businesses received up to 62% of the money, with the balance going to areas including health and biotech (8%), logistics (7%), education (5%), cleantech (5%), agriculture (4%), eCommerce (3%), mobility (3%), data & analytics (2%), and others.
The top 20 deals in 2021 accounted for 65 percent of total funding.
Opay, Chipper Cash, ZEPZ, Tradedepot, Zipline, JUMO, Andela, TALA, TymeBank, Flutterwave, and MFS Africa are among the firms that raised the most money in 2021, raising $100 million or more in single fundraising rounds.
The United States of America (62.5%) received the vast majority of the investments, followed by the United Kingdom (7.5%) and others.
Endeavour Catalyst, One Way Ventures, CDC Investment Works, Partech, Ribbit Capital, deci.ens, and AFRICINVEST were among the top investors in the top 20 deals.
SoftBank, Accel, Avenir, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Apis Partners, and AllanGray were among the others.
