South Africa emerged as Africa’s leading startup investment hub in the first half of 2025, securing $344 million in venture funding, the country’s strongest performance since 2023. According to data from Africa: The Big Deal, South Africa accounted for 24% of the continent’s total $1.4 billion raised and led in both total capital and number of $1 million+ deals (26). Key drivers of this surge included three major transactions: hearX ($100 million), Stitch ($55 million), and Naked ($38 million), highlighting strong momentum in healthtech and fintech sectors.
Egypt closely followed with $339 million, also marking its best half-year since 2023. While Egypt matched Nigeria in the number of startups raising over $100,000 and $1 million (42 and 21 deals respectively), half its total capital stemmed from just three standout deals: MNT-Halan’s Tasaheel ($50 million bond), Bokra ($59 million sukuk), and Nawy ($75 million), the continent’s largest proptech deal to date.
Kenya, previously a top performer, experienced a funding decline, posting its weakest H1 since 2021 with $227 million. The country slipped in deal count rankings, coming fourth in startups raising above $100k and $1m. Energy-related ventures dominated Kenya’s funding landscape, led by Burn Manufacturing ($85 million) and PowerGen ($55 million), indicating a pivot toward sustainable infrastructure investments.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and once a venture capital favorite, dropped to fourth with just $176 million — its lowest H1 performance since late 2020. While it kept pace with Egypt in terms of deal quantity, the average funding size was modest. Nigeria’s biggest rounds came from LemFi ($53 million), OmniRetail ($20 million), and Arnergy ($18 million), suggesting a more distributed but less capital-intensive ecosystem.
Despite the current rankings, Nigeria may rebound before year-end with major deals in the pipeline — including a potential $100 million round for PalmPay and a combined $1.5 billion equity and debt package for Moove. Meanwhile, Senegal broke into the $100 million+ club thanks to Wave Money’s $137 million debt deal. Ghana led among countries outside the “Big Four,” and encouraging activity was seen in Morocco, Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania — although 33 African markets recorded no six-figure deals at all in H1 2025.
Source: Business day