In a first comprehensive look at Nigeria’s Web3 industry, a new report’s findings reveal that the West African nation is home to over 80 startups that have collectively raised more than $130 million in funding.
The Nigeria Web3 Landscape 2024 Report, published by local venture capital firm, Hashed Emergent, provides a breakdown of the country’s evolving Web3 scene. The report is structured into 4 sections that have been central in the Web3 news scene over the last year:
- Startup and Investment Landscape
- Consumer and Enterprise Adoption
- Developer Ecosystem
- Regulatory and Tax Policy
Taking a look at the findings from the Startup and Investment landscape, the report found that Nigerian Web3 startups raised a total of $20 million in funding in 2023, a slight dip from the $22 million recorded in 2023.
Despite the overall decline, key sectors such as finance and infrastructure showed notable signs of recovery, buoyed by increased deal activity. Much of this resurgence was fueled by grants from Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain ecosystems actively engaged in the Nigerian market.
The finance sector led the rebound, with funding surging from $2 million in 2023 to $7 million in 2024. This growth was largely driven by increased interest in stablecoin-based payment systems which are gaining traction as practical solutions for hedging against inflation and enabling reliable cross-border transactions.
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Notably, despite an increase in interest in RWA tokenization led by projects like AssetChain, the focus remained on stablecoins and DeFi.
“In Africa, Nigeria founders are at the forefront of stablecoin adoption addressing gaps in traditional finance and offering alternative solutions to reliable store of value amid US dollar shortages, with projects like Onboard, Noblocks, and Ribh Finance offering cross-border stablecoin payment solutions, as well as Blockradar building on the stablecoin infrastructure layer,” said the report.
The report reveals that infrastructure emerged as Nigeria’s top-funded sector in 2024 securing $11 million, a 270% increase from 2023, and the highest since 2021.
“Unlike 2023, when funding primarily moved towards DePIN and RWA projects, this year’s investments shifted toward blockchain payment infrastructure and cross-chain interoperability,” notes the report.
“This sector saw Nigerian founders building blockchain payment solutions majorly due to the increased adoption of stablecoin payment solutions in Africa. Some of the projects from this sector last year include Zone, a blockchain payment infrastructure, and HyperBridge whose focus is majorly on cross-chain interoperability. There were however no investments for other sectors such as DePIN, RWA, or AI-driven infrastructure.”
According to the report, securing large-scale capital remains a major challenge for Nigerian Web3 entrepreneurs, with some turning to crowd sales.
While total funding has declined since 2023, investor enthusiasm persists, with a blend of international, regional, and ecosystem-focused funds maintaining their support.
The list includes:
- Hashed EM
- Ingressive Capital
- Lava
- Atlantica Ventures
- Voltron Capital
- MicroTraction
- Future Africa
- Ventures Platform
- LoftyInc Capital
- Echo VC
- Recursive Capital, and
- Tinon Capital
which have offices within the continent.
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The full report can be found here.
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