Africa’s fintech sector asserted its dominance once again in the first half of 2025, capturing 45% of all disclosed startup funding, equivalent to around $640 million, according to Africa: The Big Deal report. This reflects a slight dip from 47% in 2024 but still demonstrates sustained investor interest in the sector, marking a rebound from its slump 18 months ago when its share had fallen to 28%. Over the past 12 months, fintech’s funding share has climbed to 51%, highlighting renewed momentum and investor confidence in digital financial services across the continent.
The top fintech deals in H1 2025 were notable for both their size and geographic spread. Wave Money led the way with a $137 million debt financing deal. Other major transactions included Bokra’s $59 million sukuk raise in Egypt, Stitch’s $55 million Series B in South Africa, LemFi’s $53 million Series B in Nigeria, and a $50 million bond issued by MNT-Halan’s Tasaheel in Egypt. These high-value deals reflect a trend of scale and diversification within the sector.
While Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa each attracted over $100 million in fintech funding during the period, Kenya lagged behind with just $23 million. Analysts attribute this to Kenya’s mature mobile money ecosystem, where 95% of adults already own mobile money accounts and 82% use them weekly, reducing the demand for new digital finance solutions compared to other markets.
Fintech deals also outperformed other sectors in terms of size. The median transaction for fintech was $1.7 million, significantly higher than the $0.5 million median for non-fintech startups. Average deal sizes told a similar story, with fintech averaging $10 million per deal versus $4.8 million for others. This highlights fintech’s ability to attract larger, growth-stage investments as opposed to smaller, early-stage funding prevalent in other verticals.
In terms of overall deal volume, fintech comprised 27% of all transactions in H1 2025, but punched above its weight in higher-value deals, representing 31% of those over $1 million and 46% of those above $10 million. These figures underscore fintech’s central role in Africa’s startup economy and suggest the sector will remain a top draw for investors in the foreseeable future.
Source: Business day