Venture funding in Africa sees sustained decline in Q3

Points clés à retenir

So far in the current year, only 186 ventures have managed to secure investment, amassing a total of $1.4 billion. This figure reflects a significant drop of 48% compared to the $2.7 billion raised during the first nine months of 2022. To put this in perspective, the first three quarters of the previous year accounted for over 80% of the total investment for the entire year of 2022. Therefore, if the current trajectory persists, it appears that year-on-year funding in the African tech startup ecosystem is on track to decline by more than half or 54%. Africa managed to defy this funding downturn trend last year but as we enter the tenth month of 2023, the inevitability of startup shutdowns has now reached the continent. Last week, Kenyan logistics startup Sendy entered administration after failing to find a buyer while Nigeria-based genomics startup 54gene also initiated a shutdown. In the prior six to seven months, at least five such shutdowns were recorded based on publicly disclosed information.