Report reveals funding for Nigerian startups hit $20bn

Briter Bridges’ H1 Africa Investment Report 2023 has revealed that the startups ecosystem in Nigeria and others on the continent gathered more than $20 billion over the course of the last 15 years.

According to Briter Bridges, the continent received more than $2 billion in funding in the first half of 2023, bringing the total amount invested in the sector to more than $20 billion in 15 years.

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The business stated that this occurred at a time when many stakeholders in the ecosystem were anxious about the prospects for investment in Africa.

It stated, “Africa’s innovation industry is now worth more than $21bn. However, this milestone has come at a time when the change in the global macro environment is raising questions about the viability of investing in startups, let alone Africa.”

Significant changes in the funding environment were putting pressure on startups and investors alike, with many startups shutting down and many funds struggling to meet their target closings, the firm said.

“Others have been forced to write-down on their valuations and make deep cuts to their teams,” it said.

According to the report, investors were shifting focus from growth-stage startups to late and early-stage ones.

It stated that there had been some of mega-deals in fintech, logistics, and climate tech in the late-stage sub-ecosystem, and this had been responsible for the majority of funding in the first half of the year.

The firm stated that the African tech ecosystem is now 18 months into the downturn.

It said, “Funding to startups in Africa peaked from Q3, 2021 to Q1, 2022, with the downturn in funding volumes starting in Q2, 2022. Each quarter following Q2, which saw a decrease in the volume of deals, By Q4, the volume of deals was down more than 50 per cent.”