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  African startups secured $460 million in the period January to March 2025. This number was basically the result of deals involving players from a handful of countries on the continent. Nigerian startups had over $100 million of the sum.
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However, observers of the ecosystem note that Africa’s fundraises were somewhat poorer than the figures for the same period in 2024, which was $486 million. The current situation assumes a concerning dimension when examined in detail. In March, only $50 million was taken in by startups in the region. Nigeria’s performance was boosted by rounds from PowerGen and LemFi, both of which were announced in January. PowerGen, a developer of on-grid and off-grid energy solutions, lapped up about $50 million to enable it to scale its distribution of renewable energy solutions across Africa. LemFi, a money transfer service provider, received $53 million in Series B funding. Meanwhile, Rivy (formerly PayHippo) got $4 million from its pre-Series A round, while Seamless HR scooped up $9 million for its continental expansion push. Other significant deals were Raenest’s $11 million Series A round and Tether’s $3 million seed round. These two were disclosed in February. Kenya matched Nigeria’s performance, with its startups also raking in north of $100 million. South Africa wasn’t too far behind. Egypt completed the usual top 4 list with $61 million. Taken together, these countries accounted for 83% of the value of deals done in Q1 of 2025.
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The apparent slowdown in funding witnessed in the first quarter—and especially the sharp fall for March –is being attributed to an increasingly jittery economic environment. The dynamics of global startup investing may be changing in the short term, due to policy shifts in the United States and other key sources for international investments. Throughout the month of March, there were no investments exceeding $10 million in all of Africa. This means that although investors were still active in that period, the deals they committed to were smaller on average than what was obtained in earlier quarters. On the bright side, the number of startups landing deals worth over $1 million in Q1 crossed 50, a large figure for the past couple of years. Another theme that has piqued the interest of commentators within the ecosystem is the continuing problem of poor funding for female-led startups in Africa. Female CEOs are said to have secured just over 2% of the entire amount garnered by African startups. This number falls to 0.7% if grants are excluded. It’s worth remembering that female CEOs were only able to raise 2% of the $2.2 billion attracted by startups in Africa.
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Stakeholders in Nigeria’s startup space will hope that the fall in funding seen in March only constitutes a temporary blip. Some are also trying to address the problem of the underrepresentation of female leadership in startups that eventually get funded. We will see how these unfold.
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This article was first published on 22nd April 2025
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ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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