The beginning of 2025 marks a potent expansion for African startup ventures after 40 companies acquired $289 million in funding deals totalling $100,000 each month, exceeding the previous January 2024 total of $85 million by 240%.
Studies from Africa: The Big Deal show that these funds raised in January 2025 marked the biggest fundraising amount since 2022.
Equity fundraising transactions reached $262 million in January and secured the second position since 2019, accounting for 90% of total $100,000 deals.
The startup fundraising performance in Africa during January 2025 reached $289 million according to report estimates.
More like this
The funding total exceeded February 2024 figures by 3.5 times ($85 million) and became the second highest January since 2019 after January 2022 despite occurring within the peak funding season.
According to the report January saw fewer $100,000 deals when compared to the previous three years’ January figures.
The number of $1 million+ deals rose by five points in January reaching 26 which led to approximately $300 million in overall funding.
The largest startup financing agreements in January went to four enterprises from the Big Four African countries who pulled in 60% of all raised funds. The three largest funding deals among the four biggest businesses in this sector proved to be expansions that took place either throughout Africa or beyond African borders.
Fintech startup LemFi led the way, raising $53 million to expand further into Asia and Europe, while cleantech energy startup PowerGen followed closely with just over $50 million earmarked for scaling distributed renewable energy solutions across Africa.
Meanwhile, South African insurtech Naked secured a $38 million Series B round to automate and expand its product offerings, and Enko Education raised $24 million to grow its network of African schools.
The strong start to 2025 reflects growing investor confidence in Africa’s startup ecosystem, despite the challenges of a global funding slowdown. Sectors such as fintech, cleantech, and edtech continue to attract capital, signalling that African startups are not just surviving but evolving into more scalable and globally competitive ventures.