Nigerian techies attract 31% of total African tech firm funding
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Investors in 107 deals pumped $678 million into Nigerian tech startups between January and April this year, a 137 per cent jump above $286 million in the first four months of 2021.
The latest Africa Tech and Fintech report by Renaissance Capital shows that Nigeria accounted for 31 per cent of the total $2.2 billion raised by African techies.
Nigeria came second after Kenya which topped the league with $750 million.
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Global venture funding slowing down
Renaissance Capital noted that global venture funding is slowing down, and although the African tech scene saw a vibrant first quarter, it too began to witness a decrease in funding in April, per reporting by Nairametrics.
“For the first time since December 2021, fundraising in the African tech scene slumped, as startups during April raised about $437 million (down 39% MoM, though still up 139% YoY) across 57 deals (down 44% MoM and 17% YoY),” the company explained.
“Year to date, about $2.2bn has been raised across 300 plus deals. Fintech continued to hold sway, accounting for around 35% of the YtD raise. On a MoM basis, Nigeria and South Africa each saw their share of YtD funds raised decline by 3 ppts each, while Egypt was unchanged.
“However, Kenya gained 6 ppts on a MoM basis, buoyed by Sun King’s $260mn series D raise.”
Flutterwave
Flutterwave, one of the most valuable startups in Nigeria, raised $250 million in February this year, topping up the $170 it got in a Series C round in 2021, which made it the fourth largest unicorn in Africa.
The $250 million is its single-biggest funding round to date, shooting up its valuation to more than $3 billion.