Funding Winter: African Tech VC Funding Declines in H1 of 2024

According to the ninth edition of the African Tech Startups Funding Report, tech startups in Africa, experienced a significant decline in funding, as the funding winter continues to bite.

Tech startups in the region, raised US$530 million in the first six months of 2024, down by 56 percent on the total from the corresponding period in 2023.

Early-stage rounds were the hardest hit plummeting by 70%, and seed funding dipped 15. There were no late-stage funding rounds in the half. Late-stage funding completely dried up in the first six months, a stark shift from the $67 million and $55 million raised in H2 and H1 2023 respectively as investors seem to tighten their belts.

Part of the report reads,

“Any hopes that 2024 would see an uptick in investment were dashed by a disappointing Q1, with funding totalling just US$310 million in the first three months of the year, down 52.3 per cent on the US$650 million raised by startups in the corresponding period of 2023.

“These figures have essentially been mirrored when it comes to H1 2024, with funding 117 startups marginally less than 131 last year – raising US$530,155,000 in funding, down 56 per cent on the corresponding period last year. Q1 2023 and H1 2023 also saw falls of just over 50 per cent, so an annual halving in total investment has now been a trend for two years now.”

Source: Disrupt Africa