Nigerian startups have raised about $3.6bn since 2019, a figure that is a slightly lesser than the $3.8bn that was raised by startups in northern and eastern Africa in the time under review.
This is supported by information from the database and insights company ‘Africa: The Big Deal,’ which focuses on startup funding in Africa above $100,000.
Thanks to Nigeria, which has drawn around 86 percent of the region’s total capital since 2019, the company claimed that Western Africa was by far the region on the continent that attracted the greatest investment.
It said, “With a total of $4.2bn (41 per cent of the total), Western Africa is by far the region that has attracted the most funding since 2019. Start-ups in the region have attracted more funding than in Northern and Eastern Africa combined during the period.
“As a matter of fact, start-ups in Nigeria alone almost outperformed those two regions combined ($3.6bn vs $3.8bn). Indeed, Nigeria represents the vast majority of the funding raised in Western Africa, 86 per cent since 2019, that’s 6 out of every 7 dollars raised.”
Although its absolute numbers are still staggering, the firm claims that Nigeria’s dominance has started to wane. From 93% of all funding into the region in 2019 to 84% in 2022 to date. According to the report, start-ups in Nigeria raised more money ($1.6 billion) in 2021 than all other start-ups in Africa combined did in 2020.
The company went on to say that two other ecosystems in the West African region stand out, with Senegal raising $243 million since 2019, and Ghana raising $279 million since 2019, respectively (7% of the region’s total).
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Although its absolute numbers are still staggering, the firm claims that Nigeria’s dominance has started to wane. From 93% of all funding into the region in 2019 to 84% in 2022 to date. According to the report, start-ups in Nigeria raised more money ($1.6 billion) in 2021 than all other start-ups in Africa combined did in 2020.
The company went on to say that two other ecosystems in the West African region stand out, with Senegal raising $243 million since 2019, and Ghana raising $279 million since 2019, respectively (7% of the region’s total).
Nigeria’s startup environment was placed second in Africa and 61st globally in a recent assessment of startup ecosystems. Lagos was the highest-ranked African city according to StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index, yet it was only ranked in the top 100 worldwide.
