In the first half of 2024, African startups collected around $ 652.4 million in venture capital and debt funding.
This figure marks a heavy decrease of approximately 50.2% compared to the $ 1.31 billion lifted in H1 2023, according to data from BD financing tracker. This highlights a continuous decrease in the overall activity of venture capital in the region. The number of financing transactions also dropped considerably from 148 in H1 2023 to 97 agreements in 2024.
Despite the lower total financing, several key trends and changes in the development of the investment emerged.
Kenya has ahead of Nigeria to take first place
As usual, the famous Big Four took the largest piece of the pie.
Kenya led with 194.3 million dollars, which equals 29.8% of total funding. Nigeria, in a break from the standard, arrived in second place with $ 183.1 million, representing 28.1% of the total. Egypt has obtained $ 81.5 million, or 12.5%, while South Africa received $ 65.9 million, which represents 10.1%.
Compared to H1 2023, the composition of the large four remained the same with changing positions. Egypt ($ 446.3 million), Kenya ($ 339.1 million), South Africa (264.5 million dollars and Nigeria ($ 159.8 million) were the four respectively first.
Series B dominated half
The Bonds in series B took the lion’s share, startups collecting $ 135 million, which represents 20.7% of total funding. The out -of -competition tour was $ 100 million in Uber mooves, indicating strong investor confidence in more mature startups that have demonstrated growth and have a proven commercial model. The B rounds’ B rounds represented $ 57 million in total raised funding.
Pre-series funding represented $ 13.0 million, or 2% of the total. This step generally attracts investors at the start of the stage willing to take higher risks for potential high rewards.
Seed tours raised $ 58.8 million, which represents 9%. Pre-series of funding, where startups pass from seeds to serial towers, represented $ 16.2 million, or 2.5%. The A series attracted $ 52.6 million, representing 8.1%.
A large number of unknown transactions. These figures show the prudent but strategic approach to investors, emphasizing the support of startups that have already shown a potential for scalability and profitability.
Mobility has taken the lead with fintech closely
Surprisingly, the mobility sector has attracted the largest part, by collecting $ 254.5 million, which represents 39% of the funding. Fintech, retaining a strong position, received around $ 109.1 million, or 16.7% of the total.
Cleantech experienced approximately $ 77.7 million, representing 11.9% of the entire contribution, while Healthtech obtained around $ 42.2 million, or 6.5%. Agritech received approximately $ 30.8 million, which represents 4.7%.
Mobility exceeding fintech as a superior recipient indicates an increasing interest of investors for transport innovations, such as tension, electric vehicles and logistical solutions. This trend suggests meeting urban transport challenges and improving infrastructure.
As for Cleantech, the proliferation of funding highlights an increasing accent on sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies. This trend is aligned with global changes to sustainability and the need for innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
The emerging sectors have also attracted investments: Crypto and Web3 startups raised around $ 17.5 million, or 2.7% of the total. AI startups received around $ 9.7 million, which represents 1.5%, suggesting that financing for AI startups does not collect as much steam in Africa. Electronic commerce, a long -standing and outdated favorite, has obtained a meager $ 7.1 million, or about 1.1%.
Debt financing is there to stay
More than a third ($ 207 million) of total raised funding came from debt financing with two transactions, $ 51 million in M-Kopa and debt financing of $ 50 million Spiro, representing half of the total debt. In particular, six out of the twelve recorded agreements of the debt concerned Kenyan startups.
This trend is a welcome decision that could lead to more sustainable companies, as debt financing encourages startups to prioritize profitability from the start, because they must generate cash flows to serve their debt.
Resilience in the middle of the world challenges
The African technological ecosystem has demonstrated resilience in H1 2024, with fewer layoffs and closings compared to previous periods. This stability is probably due to continuous demand in essential sectors such as FinTech, Healthtech and Agritech, despite wider economic uncertainties. Lean trade models and the various sources of funding contributed to this stability.




Despite a drop in the total funding amount compared to previous periods, the ecosystem has shown resilience. Fewer African startups stop and reduce their workforce:
- Flutterwave dismissed 24 employees.
- GRO intelligence stop operations.
- Copia would have rejected all of his workforce.
- Spleet also dismissed certain workers.
Compared to the previous periods, it suggests a closer movement towards the stabilization of the ecosystem. This stability can be attributed to the essential nature of the sectors such as Fintech, Healthtech and Agritech, which have supported or increased demand despite economic uncertainties.