Total investment into the African tech startup ecosystem increased by almost 50 per cent to US$1.64 billion in 2025 as the sector launched to slowly recover from the impacts of the global capital shortage.
This is according to the 11th edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa, which is available for free to all thanks to support from partners TVC Labs and Opus.
A total of 178 startups raised a combined total of US$1.64 billion over the course of the year, which represented a slight decline in terms of the number of funded ventures, but an increase of 46.2 per cent on total raised funding.
This comes after two years of decline, which saw startup funding fall to US$1,119,802,000 in 2024, as the sector bore the brunt of the global “funding winter”.
The number of active investors – individual or institutional – fell again in 2025, by 4.6 per cent to 330 from 346 in 2024. Yet this represented a stabilisation of sorts after two years of major decline. In 2022 there were 987 investors, and in 2023 there were 527.
Each of the so-called “large four” of African tech – Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa – raised more funding than in 2024, when steep declines occurred as a result of the global capital shortage. This meant they accounted for much of the continent’s growth in 2025, as even though there are signs the “funding winter” is coming to an finish, capital remained focutilized on markets perceived as being less “risky”.
Fintech, yet again, once again proved by far and away the most popular sector for investors in African tech startups in 2024, increasing its share of funded ventures and generally matching its proportion of total funding from 2024.
The report is available for free download here. Aside from providing a full list of the funded startups, who invested in them, and, where possible, the amount raised, from the previous year, the annual reports also provide deep-dives into investment trfinishs within key startup geographies and verticals, as well as data on African startup acquisitions.
“2024 was a very difficult year indeed for African tech from a funding perspective, with a significant decline in investment for the second year in a row. Yet we’ve seen a large boost in 2025, and though funding levels have by no means “recovered”, it seems like we are seeing light at the finish of the tunnel from an investment perspective,” stated Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan.
For more information, or to download the report, please visit disruptafrica.com/funding-report, or email Gabriella on [email protected], or Tom on [email protected].
About Disrupt Africa
Disrupt Africa is the one-stop-shop for all news, information and commentary pertaining to the continent’s tech startup – and investment – ecosystem. With journalists roaming the continent to find, meet, and interview the most innovative and disruptive tech startups, Disrupt Africa is a true revealcase of Africa’s most promising businesses and business ideas. Its research arm releases in-depth reports on various aspects of the African tech startup ecosystem. Details here.
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