African startups raised $4.65bn in disclosed funding last year; 62% of which went to fintechs
In 2021, African startups raised a whooping $4.65 billion in disclosed funding rounds.
This is according to the latest Africa Investment Report which was published by research and intelligence firm, Briter Bridges.
The amount raised is twice as much as the total volume that was raised by African startups in 2020. There was also a 25% increase in the total number of deals last year compared to the number of deals that were announced in 2020.
The report, a copy of which was sent to Business Insider Africa, explained that some of the funding deals that were sealed last year were not disclosed. Therefore, factoring in all these undisclosed deals, the report noted that an estimated sum of $4.9 billion was actually raised in 2021. As many as 240+ deals were not disclosed.
Note that the report was compiled using data gathered by analysts at Briter Intelligence, as well as information provided by investors and founders.
While commenting on the report, the Director of Briter Bridges, Dario Giuliani, said the huge capital raise last year was indicative of Africa’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination.
“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 Africa is undergoing tangible changes, and the increasing presence of local exits and returns is shaping the continent’s attractiveness,” he said.
Key takeaways from the funding report
Startups in the following African countries received much of the funds in 2021: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.
The top 20 deals of 2021 captured 65% of the total funding volume. Below are some of the startups that raised the most funds in 2021. Each of them raised $100 million and above during single funding rounds:
- Opay
- Chipper Cash
- ZEPZ
- Tradedepot
- Zipline
- JUMO
- Andela
- TALA
- TymeBank
- Flutterwave
- MFS Africa
Fintech startups received as much as 62% of the funds, with the rest going to other sectors such as health and biotech (8%), logistics (7%), education (5%), cleantech (5%), agriculture (4%), eCommerce (3%), mobility (3%), data & analytics (2%) and others.
Do note that the disclosed funding rounds were in various stages such as Pre-seed, Series A, B, C, D, and E, as well as acquisitions. Also, the funds came in a mixture of equity and debt.
It should also be pointed out that a vast majority of the investments came from the United States of America (62.5%), followed by the United Kingdom (7.5%). The following investors funded the top 20 deals:
- Endeavour Catalyst
- One Way Ventures
- CDC Investment Works
- Partech
- Ribbit Capital
- deci.ens
- AFRICINVEST
- SoftBank
- Accel
- Avenir
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
- Apis Partners
- AllanGray
