After a muted 2024, Africa’s startup ecosystem is showing real signs of momentum in 2025, with fresh funding figures confirming a strong rebound.
Seth Onyango, Second Eye Africa
African startups have surged past expectations in the first half of 2025, raising over $1.4 billion in deals exceeding $100,000 — a striking rebound from the slower pace of 2024.
Buoyed by a robust $365 million haul in June alone, the continent’s venture capital activity is proving that last year’s funding freeze may well be behind it.
June’s milestone marks the strongest monthly performance in nearly a year and seals a promising H1 for Africa’s startup ecosystem.
Monthly funding has consistently exceeded $250 million on four occasions this year, with a monthly average of $237 million — up from $133 million in H1 2024 and $187 million across all of 2024.
This 78% year-over-year increase underscores the ecosystem’s accelerated momentum and places H1 2025 on par with H2 2024, despite a modest 1.5% dip.
Equity funding saw a healthy climb with $950 million raised, significantly outpacing the $531 million recorded in H1 2024.
Debt financing also saw a rebound, closing at $400 million, up 55% year-over-year, thanks largely to June’s explosive $227 million in debt deals, including $137 million raised by Wave, the highest monthly debt total in more than two years.
After a protracted chill in Africa’s venture capital (VC) activity, the continent’s startup scene had already begun showing strong signs of revival earlier in the year.
Mega deals in the period helped restore momentum. South African healthtech hearX merged with U.S.-based Eargo in a $100 million transaction, while Egyptian fintech Bokra issued a $59 million sukuk, and Stitch raised $55 million from existing investors.
Exits have also been active, with Egypt’s ADVA acquired by Maseera (UAE), Nigerian firm Bankly taken over by C-One Ventures, and Peach Payments of South Africa acquiring PayDunya to expand into Francophone West Africa.
From January to April, startups raised $803 million across 163 deals, a 43% rise over the same period last year. Notably, at least 225 unique investors participated in deals over $100,000, signalling broader engagement across the ecosystem.
The end of 2024 laid the groundwork for this surge. Unicorn announcements from Moniepoint and Tyme Group reignited interest, while more diverse capital sources—including Middle Eastern and Asian investors—began flowing into the continent’s tech sector.
With robust numbers and a diversified investor base, African startups appear poised for sustained growth across fintech, healthtech, agritech, renewables, and e-commerce. The freeze may be over—and this time, the warmth seems here to stay.
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