Business Growth 2022 // 6 Ways To Take Your Business From Good to Great
January 7, 2022
Google for Startups Accelerator for Africa // Apply Before 14th January
January 11, 2022
Startup-focused news and research company Disrupt Africa is set to release the 7th edition of its African Tech Startups Funding Report later this month.
The new African Tech Startups Funding Report is set to tell the story of a year in which funding records have already been tumbled.
Once more the report will be made available for free.
Every January since 2016, Disrupt Africa has released the African Tech Startups Funding Report, which quantifies investment into the African tech space over the course of the previous 12 months and analyses key trends and themes.
The report has tracked the extraordinary progress made by the continent’s startup ecosystems from an investment perspective since 2015, with the sixth edition – released in January – detailing a record-breaking 2020, as 397 startups raised an impressive US$701.5 million in total funding.
Previously available for sale, the report was purchased each year by leading tech companies from Africa and the rest of the world, Big Four consulting firms, banking and fintech leaders, venture capital firms, supranational investors and international trade bodies.
The most recent edition, however, was open-source for the first time, to make it accessible to those for whom the information is most valuable – African entrepreneurs. It has so far been downloaded thousands of times
So far Disrupt Africa has had a number of sponsors come on board for the Disrupt Africa’s open-sourced funding report.
The first batch of partners include Africa-focused VC firms Novastar Ventures, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital and Future Africa.
The batch was announced back in August, and a further two have since been confirmed they are MFS Africa, a leading pan-African fintech company, operating the largest digital payments hub on the continent; and MEST Africa, an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training programme, internal seed fund, and network of hubs.
African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020
According to the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020, African tech startups secured record-breaking funding worth US$701.5 million in 2020. All this despite the downturn in the continent’s economy brought about by business shutdowns due to the pandemic.
The report indicated that at least 370 active investors, marking 42.8 percent growth on the previous year when the data tracked 261 investors. A 68.4 percent rise on the 155 investors found in 2018.
Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt remain emphatically Africa’s “big four” from a funding perspective, accounting for 77 percent of funded startups and 89.2 percent of total investment.
African Tech Startup Funding // US$701.5 Million Secured in 2020
Nigeria (85), Egypt (82) and South Africa (81) lead the way from a venture perspective, but when it comes to total combined raised capital it is Kenya that is Africa’s leader. The startups from the East African country raised over US$190 million in funding alone in 2020.
Though these markets remain clear leaders, there were signs of growing activity elsewhere on the continent, with startups backed in 24 African countries, up from 19 in 2019, 20 in 2018, and 18 in 2017. The report also showed that Fintechs remained the most attractive to investors in 2020, with more startups securing funding than any other sector and a combined total that dwarfed all others.
Disrupt Africa releases first geographically-focused publication
In November 2021, Disrupt Africa releases another report dubbed The Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 that delved into the local ecosystem by analyzing active startups, local support networks, and funding and exit activity over the last seven years.
The Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 was the first geographically-focused publication released by the company, made possible by support from key partners the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Global Ventures. Other supporters of the report are AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab) and Quona Capital.
Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has built up a significant portfolio of publications, most notably the African Tech Startups Funding Report and Finnovating for Africa, previously available for sale but now made available free for all via open-sourcing initiatives with various partners across the continent’s tech ecosystem.
