383 Nigerian start-ups raise $2.1 billion in seven years

Nigerian start-ups numbering 383 raised $2,068,709,445 in funding between January 2015 and August 2022 – the highest funding raised by any other country’s start-ups in the period.

Disrupt Africa, which revealed this in its ‘African Tech Startups Funding Report,’ noted that funding, both in terms of the number of start-ups and the total tally secured, has generally increased year-on-year, with total investment increasing more than four-fold between 2020 and 2022.

It said Nigerian start-ups are, however, only the third most successful when it comes to successful exits, with 15 ventures acquired since 2015 – fewer than South Africa and Egypt.

Disrupt Africa said the total amount of funding raised by African tech start-ups in the third quarter of 2023 reached $492 million, which takes the total for the year to date to $1.4 billion. However, the figure is 48 per cent down year-on-year.

The data from the report showed that while Africa has experienced a growth in investments over the past two years, the depressed global climate for investments is reflected in African businesses.

Analysis by itweb.africa of the report found that $3.3 billion was raised in 2022, which was a leap of 55 per cent from 2021, where investments totalled $2.1 billion.

Disrupt Africa stated that the year is set to be regressive in terms of investment levels, which aligns with the global trends. The $1.4 billion raised to date this year, is 48 per cent down on the same period last year.

The report also identifies that quarterly totals are slowly declining, with $1.2 billion raised in H1 this year, compared to H1 2022. Disrupt Africa said the $492 million raised in Q3 this year “makes it the worst quarter of the year from a funding perspective.”

According to the company, African tech start-up funding would be down 54 per cent year-on-year.