African startups raised $435.2 million in disclosed funding in August 2026, representing a 325.8 per cent increase from the $102.2 million recorded in July, according to Nairametrics Research analysis of The Big Deal data.

The analysis showed that 32 startups raised the $435.2 million during the month, with the top 10 deals accounting for $428 million, or 98.35 per cent of the total funding.

Nigeria emerged as the continent’s dominant startup funding destination, attracting $364.1 million across 20 deals, representing 83.66 per cent of Africa’s disclosed startup funding in August.

The country’s performance was largely driven by Moove’s $250 million Series C round, alongside major investments in Jumia, Yellow Card, Terra Industries and ThriveAgric.
Moove, the mobility technology company, raised $250 million at a $2.1 billion valuation in a Series C round led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific.

The funding will support the company’s expansion of its autonomous vehicle business, including autonomous fleet ownership and robotics-focused depot infrastructure, as well as new market launches globally.

Jumia Technologies AG secured $50 million in fresh equity funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), its largest shareholder Axian Telecom and other investors.

Yellow Card, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, raised $40 million in strategic funding from SC Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital and other strategic investors.

Terra Industries, a Nigerian defence technology startup, raised a further $18 million, bringing its seed financing to $52 million.

ThriveAgric also raised about $3.9 million through its first commercial paper issuance to finance commodity purchases and agricultural trading.

Egypt followed Nigeria with $36.2 million across four deals, accounting for 8.32 per cent of the continent’s total funding, while South Africa attracted $31.6 million across four deals, representing 7.26 per cent.
Côte d’Ivoire recorded $1.5 million across two deals, while Kenya and Uganda attracted $1 million and $800,000 respectively.

At the regional level, Western Africa dominated with $365.6 million across 21 deals, representing 84.01 per cent of total disclosed funding.

Northern Africa followed with $36.2 million, while Southern Africa recorded $31.6 million. Eastern Africa attracted $1.8 million during the month.

The funding surge came despite a decline in deal volume. African startups recorded 47 deals worth $102.2 million in July, compared with 32 deals in August.

Year-on-year, August 2026 funding rose 291 per cent from the $111.3 million recorded in August 2025, when 44 deals were completed.
The concentration of funding also increased sharply. The top 10 startups accounted for 76.19 per cent of total funding in August 2025, compared with 98.35 per cent in August 2026.

The logistics and transport sector attracted the largest share of funding in August, accounting for $263 million, or 60.43 per cent of the total, from just two deals. Moove’s $250 million Series C round accounted for the bulk of the sector’s funding.

Fintech followed with $87.7 million across eight deals, representing 20.15 per cent of total funding, while retail attracted $51 million across two deals.

Deeptech startups raised $19.5 million across three deals, education and jobs attracted $9.6 million across 12 deals, while agriculture and food recorded $3.8 million.

By deal type, Series C transactions accounted for $250 million, or 57.43 per cent of total funding, followed by venture rounds at $124.2 million, representing 28.53 per cent.
Series A rounds attracted $30.5 million, while bonds accounted for $20.7 million.

Debt transactions contributed $6.2 million, pre-seed rounds $2 million, grants $1.2 million and pre-Series A funding $500,000.
Meanwhile, Egypt-based fintech Tanweely was involved in a $95 million merger and acquisition transaction by eFinance.

The transaction was excluded from the $435.2 million funding total because it did not represent fresh capital flowing into the startup ecosystem.

Other notable transactions during the month included South Africa-based Jem HR’s $8.4 million Series A round, South African payments startup Moment’s $22 million Series A funding, Egypt-based SWVL’s $13 million private placement, Egypt-based ValU’s $20.7 million corporate bond issuance and Wilzy’s approximately $2 million investment from eFinance Group.

The August funding figures highlight a growing investor preference for larger, more established African startups, even as overall deal volumes decline.