According to data gathered by Afridigest’s Fintech Transactions Database for the first half of 2023, banking / lending dominated the funding scene in Africa while crypto and blockchain was the category that saw the least amount of funding.
H1 2023 Africa Fintech Funding:
* Total H1 2023 funding – $1.2 billion
* Banking / lending accounted for the largest funding at 66%
* Crypto and blockchain accounted for the least funding at 2%
* Egypt accounted for the largest share at 34% of H1 total funding
* Equity funding… pic.twitter.com/1nZEyno8jy— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 28, 2023
The ranking was carried out by Afridigest, a prominent source for insights into Africa’s technology ecosystem, which analyzed financial activities spanning Week 1 to Week 26 in 2023. The comprehensive assessment encompassed equity fundraising, debt fundraising, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, while excluding grants to align with internationally recognized best practices in deal reporting.
As outlined in the report:
- Banking / lending platforms received the most funding 66% of total funding
- Crypto and blockchain received the least funding at 2% of total funding
- Egypt emerged as the front-runner on the list securing a remarkable $402 million (34% of total funding) across 7 deals
- Following closely are South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, with funding amounts of $304 million, $280 million, and $90 million, respectively, achieved through 11, 13, and 31 deals, respectively
Collectively, 75 African fintech startups monitored by Afridigest reported a total of $1.2 billion in raised risk capital through 85 transactions. This translates to an average of 14 deals and around $200 million in funding raised per month.
ICYMI: Here's a summary of what happened in African fintech in the first half of the year
75 fintech startups in Africa announced raising ~$1.2B across 85 debt & equity transactions in H1
Egypt 🇪🇬 led the way in terms of total funding raised & Nigeria 🇳🇬 led in number of deals pic.twitter.com/BSWmz7kjyx
— Afridigest 🧠💡🌍🚀📨 (@AfridigestHQ) August 21, 2023
According to Afridigest:
“Fintech is the leading sector for VC funding in Africa today. Roughly $0.40 out of every dollar raised by an Africa-focused startup goes to a fintech company.” – AfriDigest
Here’s the breakdown of fintech funding in various countries:
- Egypt – $402 million
- South Africa – $304 million
- Kenya – $280 million
- Nigeria – $90 million
- Rwanda – $6 million
- Guinea – $3.3 million
- Tanzania – $2.6 million
- Zambia – $1.6 million
- Morocco – $1.2 million
- Ethiopia – $1 million
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – $0.5 million
- Ghana: $0.2 million
- Senegal – $0.1 million
- Uganda – $0.1 million
- Cameroon – $0.1 million
The report indicates that:
- Equity funding for African fintech companies witnessed a decline of about 40 percent during the first half of 2022 when compared to the preceding year.
- In contrast, debt financing demonstrated strong expansion experiencing a significant increase of over 80 percent.
Notable players in the Banking/Lending sector during the period in question include lending platforms such as MNT-Halan and Lulalend. Others are digital banks like TymeBank and FairMoney, along with asset financing platforms like M-Kopa and Planet42.
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