In 2023, the ‘Big Four’ countries in Africa attracted 87% of all start-up funding, their highest share since 2019. These countries hosted 71% (357 out of 500) of the start-ups that raised $100,000 or more. Their dominance largely reflects regional trends, with Nigeria showing significant differences compared to the others.
Kenya led the continent with nearly $800 million in funding, accounting for 28% of Africa’s total. Despite a 25% year-over-year decline, Kenya’s share of Eastern Africa’s funding rose from 86% in 2022 to 91% in 2023. During this period, 93 start-ups in Kenya raised $100,000 or more, representing 19% of Africa’s total.
In Egypt, 48 start-ups raised $100,000 or more in 2023, the lowest among the Big Four. However, with a moderate year-over-year decline of 20%, Egypt secured the second spot. The country’s share of North African funding increased significantly from 72% in 2022 to 95% in 2023, driven by the substantial fundraising by MNT-Halan and the weaker performance of Algeria and Tunisia compared to 2022.
South Africa maintained the highest regional funding share at 97%. The 70 start-ups that raised $100,000 or more collectively secured $600 million, accounting for 21% of the continent’s total. Notably, South Africa was the only Big Four country to experience an increase in total funding from 2022 to 2023, with an 8% year-over-year growth.
Nigeria saw the most significant change in 2023. Although it had the highest number of start-ups raising $100,000 or more (146, 29% of the continent), the total amount raised dropped by 67% year-over-year to $410 million, compared to $1.2 billion in 2022 and $1.7 billion in 2021. Consequently, Nigeria’s share of Western African funding fell to 68%, down from 85% in 2021 and 77% in 2022, marking the lowest regional share for any Big Four market since 2019.
Beyond the Big Four, which accounted for 87% of the funding, there was significant activity. Encouragingly, 29% of the start-ups that raised $100,000 or more in 2023 were located outside the Big Four countries.
