Funding to African “Series stage” startups has increased exponentially over the last year.
Series stage startups are essentially startups that have received Series A – Z funding in Africa in 2021. We’re currently tracking data up to Series E.
According to our data, more African startups have raised Series funding rounds in 2021 than in any previous year, creating an investment-friendly environment for early-stage companies.
Series A rounds account for the largest number of rounds, while only five companies (OPay, Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, Yoco, and Elmenus) contribute the largest funding amounts in Series C.
At Series A, funding to African startups has increased by over 2.5x year-on-year, showing that investors are betting more on African startups as they advance toward their growth stages.
At Series B, funding to African startups has increased by 52%, with companies like Gro Intelligence, Fair Money, Kuda, and Daystar Power raising the biggest rounds.
Five startups at Series C currently hold the largest share (over 36%) of cumulative funding ($2.1 billion as of September 26) in Series stage startups. These companies are OPay, Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, Yoco, and Elmenus.
At Series D & E, companies like Go1 (South Africa) and Zipline (Rwanda) have raised $200 million and $250 million, respectively.
This is the current state of average funding to African startups at the Series stage.
Please note: Most of these companies are incorporated outside Africa but have specific regions in Africa as their headquarters. The topic of African incorporation will be covered in a separate post.