Nigeria Reclaims African Startup Funding Lead With $635 Million in Nine MonthsNigeria Reclaims African Startup Funding Lead With $635 Million in Nine Months

Four transactions drove the bulk of the amount: Moove raised KSh 32.5 billion ($250 million), Flutterwave KSh 13 billion ($100 million), Jumia KSh 6.5 billion ($50 million) and Yellow Card KSh 5.2 billion ($40 million).

Together these accounted for roughly KSh 57.2 billion ($440 million), or about 69 per cent of Nigeria’s nine-month total. At the same time, 77 Nigerian startups raised at least KSh 13,000 ($100), up from 70 a year earlier, the highest count among African countries.

Kenya and South Africa fall sharply

Kenyan startups raised KSh 26.1 billion ($201 million) in the same period, down 73 per cent year on year and the lowest January-to-September total since 2020. South Africa fell 58 per cent to KSh 23.7 billion ($182 million). Egypt was the only other major market to post an increase, reaching KSh 57.9 billion ($445 million). Continental funding across all African startups stood at about KSh 281 billion ($2.16 billion) for the nine months.

Africa: The Big Deal notes that the classification of some pan-African ventures, including electric-mobility firm Spiro which operates extensively in Kenya, affects country totals. Even after that adjustment, Kenya’s decline remains substantial.

Logistics and transport overtook fintech as the largest sector by funding amount in the period, largely because of the Moove and Spiro rounds. Related local coverage of technology businesses appears on the Mwenendo site.

What the shift means for East African founders

For Kenyan and East African entrepreneurs the numbers mean capital is currently flowing more heavily toward a handful of large Nigerian rounds rather than a broad set of earlier-stage deals across the region. Women-founded startups continued to receive a small share of total funding, under 10 per cent according to the same tracker. The concentration raises the question of how repeatable the rebound will be if one or two of the large companies encounter execution problems.

What happens next will be clearer after the fourth-quarter numbers. Africa: The Big Deal estimates that roughly another KSh 130 billion ($1 billion) would be needed in the final three months for the continent to exceed 2025’s full-year total.

Equity funding, however, is on track to post its strongest year since 2022 if current trends hold. Founders in Nairobi and other East African hubs will be watching whether the large-round concentration spreads or whether smaller cheques return to earlier-stage companies outside Nigeria.