Female Representation Falls as African Tech Funding Rebounds

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALMarch 3, 2026 at 9:42 AM UTC

TLDR

Gender diversity in African tech funding declined in 2025 despite a recovery in total investment volumes.
Only 16.9% of funded startups in 2025 had at least one woman on their founding team, highlighting a concerning trend.
While African tech funding has stabilized post-capital crunch, there is limited progress towards gender balance, signaling a need for targeted interventions and stronger pipelines.

Gender diversity declined in African tech funding in 2025 even as total investment volumes recovered, according to the latest African Tech Startups Funding Report by Disrupt Africa.

A total of 178 startups raised $1.64 billion during the year. While the number of funded ventures dipped slightly, total funding increased 46.2% compared to 2024.

Only 30 funded startups, or 16.9%, had at least one woman on their founding team in 2025. That compares with 37 startups, or 18.5%, in 2024 and 107 startups, or 26.3%, in 2023.

The decline continues a downward trend after earlier gains. In 2022, 128 funded startups, representing 20.2%, had a female co-founder. In 2021, the figure stood at 121 startups, or 21.5%.

The data suggests that the post-capital crunch consolidation has not improved gender representation among funded ventures.

Disrupt Africa’s separate Diversity Dividend report found that progress toward gender balance in the ecosystem has been limited and remains far from parity.

Key Takeaways

African tech funding has stabilized after a global slowdown in venture capital. However, capital concentration appears to be benefiting fewer and more established founders, often at the expense of diversity. Research globally shows that female-founded startups typically receive a small share of venture capital. In Africa, women-led ventures have historically attracted less than 10% of total funding by value. During tighter funding cycles, investors tend to favor proven networks and repeat founders, which can reinforce existing gender imbalances. Larger ticket sizes also skew total funding toward male-dominated teams. Improving representation may require targeted funds, stronger pipelines at pre-seed and seed levels, and more women in venture capital decision-making roles. As funding rebounds, ecosystem stakeholders face pressure to ensure that recovery does not widen structural gaps. Without deliberate intervention, capital concentration risks slowing progress toward a more inclusive tech sector across the continent.

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