Start-ups in Africa raised $2.2b in 2024, pushed by mega deals, 25% drop from 2023

Start-ups in Africa cumulatively raised $2.2 billion in equity, debt, and grants (excluding exits) in 2024, and though it is a significant figure in absolute terms, it represents a 25% drop compared to the $2.9 billion that were raised on the continent in 2023, ‘Africa: The Big Deal’ has revealed.
According to the funding report released by the research firm, the total of $2.2 billion start-up funding secured in 2024 was driven by two mega deals by Nigeria’s Moniepoint and South Africa’s Tyme Group. Despite the 25% dip in 2024, a total of 188 ventures secured $1 million or more (excluding exits) in funding, just 10% less than the number achieved the previous year. With respect to the exit front, the funding report notes that there were 22 exits made public last year, versus 20 in 2023.
But looking at the figures in detail, it’s not all doom and gloom, as the ‘Africa: The Big Deal’ report points out that “the relative counter-performance of 2024 is mostly to be blamed on a slow start of the year: just under $800 million raised in H1, the slowest semester since 2020.” Another reason to remain positive is that the decline from 2023 to 2024 in funding is mostly attributable to a decline in debt funding, the report says. While 2023 was dubbed “The Year of the Debt,” with debt funding constituting a substantial 38% of total funding, this share declined to 30% in 2024, with debt funding contracting by 40% year-on-year.