Africa’s startup funds drop by 87% as Nigeria raises $7.8m

Startups funding dropped significantly in August by about 87 per cent. It went down from $443 million recorded in July to $56 million a month after. In its latest findings, released yesterday, research firm, ‘Africa: The Big Deal’, which tracks fundraising across the continent, noted that funding was much slower in August, saying: “Start-ups in Africa announced only $56 million in funding, down from $443 million in July (8x less) and $234 million in August 2023 (4x less), making August 2024 the second-slowest month in four years in terms of funding raised, after June 2024 ($42 million).”

It disclosed that majority of the funding was raised as equity (87 per cent), the rest was debt (nine per cent) and grants (four per cent). Further analysis of the data showed Nigeria accounted for 14 per cent of the $56 million raised in August 2024.

Specifically, a single raise by Nigerian fintech, Waza, gave the country the 14 per cent share of the total funds raised by African startups in August. Waza, a Y Combinator-backed B2B payment and liquidity provider for emerging market businesses, in August, secured $8 million in equity and debt funding, which consists of a $3 million seed equity round and a $5 million in debt funding.

This became one of the three largest deals sealed by African startups in the month, according to the funding report.