Kenya Leads African Start-Up Funding in H1 2024 as Big Four Dominate Investments

In the first half (H1) of 2024, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt dubbed the “Big Four”, dominated African start-up funding, securing 79% of all investments, as reported by Africa: The Big Deal. This marks a slight drop from the five-year average of 83% and a significant decrease from the 92% recorded in H1 2023.

Kenya led the way for the third consecutive semester, attracting $244 million, or 32% of the continent’s total start-up funding in H1 2024, a 5 percentage point increase from the previous year.

This strong performance helped East Africa secure $285 million, accounting for 37.5% of Africa’s total funding. Kenya’s robust tech ecosystem, particularly in Nairobi, and its strategic location as a gateway to East Africa, have solidified its position as a premier destination for start-up investors.

Nigeria, despite seeing a dip in its traditional dominance, secured $172 million in H1 2024, making it the second most attractive market with 23% of the continent’s total funding. This marks a significant rebound from 2023’s 14%. Western Africa, with $270 million in total funding, followed closely behind Eastern Africa. Notable deals in the region included Benin’s $50 million (mainly from a single deal with Spiro), Ghana’s $29 million, and Senegal’s $11 million.

Egypt saw a decline in start-up funding, attracting $101 million or 13% of the continent’s total, down from 22% in 2023, yet still commanding 87% of Northern Africa’s funding. Morocco was the only other Northern African country to exceed $10 million in investments, raising $14 million. Activity in Tunisia and Algeria, which had shown promise in 2021 and 2022, was limited since 2023.

South Africa dropped to fourth place with $85 million raised, representing 11% of Africa’s total start-up funding in H1 2024, down from 21% in 2023. Despite this decline, South Africa captured 98% of the region’s funding, an increase from 96% in the previous year. Overall, the Southern African region claimed 11.5% of the total funding.

In H1 2024, 22 African countries reported at least one $100k deal, indicating that nearly 60% of the continent’s nations did not register any significant start-up funding activity during this period. The concentration of funding in a few key markets highlights the disparity in investment distribution across Africa.