Despite challenges in the global economy and a slowdown in funding across Africa, Nigerian startups have demonstrated resilience by securing $160 million in funding during the first quarter of this year.

This shows Nigeria’s position as a key player in the continent’s vibrant startup ecosystem and highlights the potential for continued growth and innovation in the Nigerian tech sector.

A new report by Africa: the Big Deal noted that Nigeria, alongside Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, accounted for 87 percent of all startup investments in Africa during this period.

The breakdown of funding among these four countries showed Nigeria leading the pack with $160 million, followed by Kenya with $108 million, South Africa with $72 million, and Egypt with $53 million.

This data underscores Nigeria’s dominance in attracting investment within the African startup landscape, cementing its status as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.

According to the report, the majority of investments were channeled to startups headquartered in these four countries, with Nigeria and Kenya capturing the lion’s share of funding.

Only a handful of other African nations managed to secure more than $5 million in funding during the first quarter, highlighting the concentrated nature of startup investment activity in Africa.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties, African startups have continued to demonstrate resilience and adaptability. Many entrepreneurs have innovated and created new business models to navigate the evolving landscape, driving growth and attracting investor interest.

Prashant Matta, SP of Panache Venture, acknowledged the decline in funding as a global issue exacerbated by economic challenges. However, he expressed optimism about Nigerian startups, citing mega-deals such as the $100 million investment into Nigerian mobility fintech startup Moove. These mega-deals, fueled by investments from outside Africa, show the confidence of international investors in the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

The report highlighted that the logistics and transport sector emerged as the top recipient of funding in the first quarter, totaling $151 million from 14 deals. Nigerian startup Moove raised a significant $110 million during this period.

Following closely behind, fintech attracted the second-highest funding with $105 million, followed by agric and food with $50 million, energy with $49 million, and healthcare with $45 million. These sectors reflect the diverse range of opportunities and innovations driving growth in the Nigerian startup ecosystem.

Healthcare consulting firm Salient Advisory has launched its latest Intelligence Report, presenting findings on funding activity, covering grant, equity, and debt investments for African healthtech startups in 2023.

Titled “2023 RoundUp: Investments in African HealthTech”, the report provides analysis on funding trends in African healthtech ecosystems.

It provides insights for key stakeholders across governments, investors, donors and global health institutions, and is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

While investments in African startups plummeted last year, mirroring global trends, healthtech showed resilience, experiencing only a 2% dip compared to a staggering 39% decline in the broader ecosystem.

The number of deals in African healthtech rose by 17% year-over-year (YoY) to 145, with total funding of $167 million and an average ticket size of $1.1 million. In total, 114 innovators received funding in 2023, with 23 receiving multiple investments in the year.

The number of deals for women-led companies remained relatively steady (26 in 2022 vs. 33 in 2023), however, the amount of funding saw a dramatic shift as the gender gaps significantly narrowed: women-led companies secured $52 million in funding –31% of all investments in 2023. This represents a 2000% YoY increase compared to the $2 million (1.4%) they received in 2022.

Online pharmacy solutions attracted the majority of investor capital, capturing 38% ($63 million) of all funding raised, driven by Series B funding rounds by Kenya’s Kasha ($21 million) and MyDAWA ($20 million), alongside Egypt’s Yodawy ($16 million).

Electronic medical records solutions were the second-best funded category, driven by Helium Health’s $30 million Series B funding round.

Equity investments accounted for 91% of total funding with an average deal size of $3.2 million. This significantly outpaced grants, which only contributed 7% of capital with an average ticket size of $168,000.

However, grants continue to play a crucial role in enabling access to early-stage funding for innovators to test and validate their business models. Debt funding remains rare as only one debt-based investment was tracked in 2023.

While still rare, merger and acquisition activity doubled in the past year with four key transactions. The prospect of future funding also appears strong as, despite broader economic headwinds which suggest a slowdown in funding for technology startups, over $600 million in new funding was announced by investors with an interest in African health systems.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Yomi Kazeem, Engagement Manager at Salient Advisory, commented:

“The resilience of African healthtech innovations shines through in the findings of this report. Amid difficult headwinds, these innovations continue to demonstrate commercially viable models that have the potential to improve access to healthcare and deliver impact at scale. The increased funding for women founders is a high point and, in coming years, investors must prioritise sustaining strategies that ensure equitable funding across founders.

Dr. Analía Porrás, Deputy Director, Global Health Agencies and Funds, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, also commented: “African healthtech has proven resilient over the past year, with innovators receiving investments to test, validate and scale solutions that have the potential to transform health systems across the continent. We are pleased to be playing a role by providing innovators with risk-tolerant capital through the Investing in Innovation program and hope to see the current resilience translate into increased confidence and funding from investors and donors.”

Nigeria has lost its coveted crown as the top destination for startup investments to Kenya, according to the latest report ‘Africa: The Big Deal’.

Foreign investments in Nigerian startups declined by 65.83% year-on-year from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $410 million in 2023.

During the same period, Kenya raised $800 million to emerge top destination for investments in Africa while Nigeria dropped to the fourth position in terms of total startup investments.

However, the Big Four African nations, including Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria, continued to dominate the startup funding scene in 2023 and attracted 87% of the total foreign investments on the continent.

The report highlights Nigeria’s pivotal role in this shift, noting that while the country still boasted the highest number of startups raising $100,000 or more (146, constituting 29% of the continent), the total funding amount experienced a drastic threefold decrease year-on-year.

The research firm observed that “Nigeria is the country where the most dramatic change happened in 2023.”

Despite maintaining a high number of startups, the total funding for Nigerian startups plummeted to $410 million, compared to $1.2 billion in 2022 and $1.7 billion in 2021.

Consequently, Nigeria’s share of Western African funding declined to 68%, down from 85% in 2021 and 77% in 2022.

This decline in startup investments emphasizes the changing dynamics of Africa’s tech ecosystem with Kenya emerging as a formidable player in the startup funding arena.

As Nigeria grapples with this setback, stakeholders are left pondering the reasons behind this significant shift and exploring avenues to revitalize the country’s startup investment landscape.