The year 2024 was challenging for African startups as funding declined by 25 percent compared to 2023. According to Africa: The Big Deal, startups in Africa raised $2.2 billion in 2024, compared to $2.9 billion in 2023.
The data insight firm that tracks startup deals of $100,000 and above noted that 51 percent of the funding was raised by Moniepoint, Tyme, MNT-Halan, and seven others. Eight of the ten startups that raised the most funds are in a ‘Big Four’ country — Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa.
Of the 42 ventures that raised $10 million or more in 2024, 86 percent were headquartered in a Big Four market.
“As usual, the Big Four, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa, attracted 84 percent of all start-up funding (excluding exits). Kenya led the pack with $638 million, Nigeria ($410 million), Egypt ($400 million), and South Africa ($394 million),” stated Africa: The Big Deal.
Key sectors like transport, fintech, and cleantech continued to attract significant investments. However, here are ten startups that raised the most funding in 2024:
Tyme
In December, Tyme, a multi-country digital banking company headquartered in Singapore, achieved unicorn status after raising $250 million in a Series D funding round. The digital bank reported the highest funding in 2024, which boosted its valuation to $1.5 billion.
The round was led by Brazilian challenger Nubank, which has invested $150 million in the company. The fundraiser also featured participation from M&G’s Catalyst, which contributed $50 million, and a range of existing investors who provided the remaining $50 million.
Tyme’s investor base includes the likes of British International Investment (BII), African Rainbow Capital, Apis Growth Fund II, The Gokongwei Group, Norrsken 22, and others. Since its founding in 2019, Tyme Group has expanded to serve 15 million customers across Africa and Southeast Asia through its digital banking subsidiaries – TymeBank in South Africa and GoTyme Bank in the Philippines.
Moniepoint
Moniepoint secured $110 million in Series C funding in October, propelling its valuation to $1 billion. Its Series C investment was led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund. Other new investors include Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital. Global impact firm, Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated in the funding round.
The startup, founded by Tosin Eniolorunda in 2015, serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Nigeria, providing services like working capital, loans, payment solutions, and business management tools. Processing over 800 million monthly transactions, with a total transaction value above $17 billion, Moniepoint has scaled rapidly, reaching 400,000 SMBs in 2022 and expanding into personal banking.
Read also: Nigeria falls to second as startups investors favour Kenya
MNT-Halan
Seventeen months after MNT-Halan, the Egypt-based fintech company, announced a $400 million investment to become Egypt’s first unicorn, the startup secured another $157.5 million in a new funding round to fuel its expansion outside its home country.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) led the round with a $40 million investment, joined by existing investors such as Development Partners International (DPI), and Lorax Capital Partners, funds managed by Apis Partners LLP, Lunate, and GB Corp.
This development brought the startup’s total funding to $677.5 million over the past two years to support its expansion efforts. According to the startup, it has served over 5 million clients through its tech and data-driven solutions and disbursed over $2.5 billion in loans, while its eCommerce platform processes more than $50 million in monthly sales.
M-Kopa
M-KOPA, a fintech platform connecting underbanked customers to financing and digital financial services in Kenya and four other African markets, secured a $51 million loan to support digital connectivity nationwide by helping underserved communities access affordable smartphones.
The startup received a $51 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which has given over $250 million in a new financing package to various Kenyan firms.
D.light
In 2024, d.light, a solar-powered solutions provider, closed a $176 million securitisation facility to scale up its solar operations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in July 2024.
The financing was provided by African Frontier Capital, a social impact-focused asset management company. The facility will enable d.light to make solar-powered products available to more low-income households and communities.
In February 2024, it secured $7.4 million in securitised financing from Chapel Hill Denham’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund. The funding will be used to expand access to solar-powered products for low-income households in Nigeria. Also, in May 2024, d.light received a $3 million grant to provide 10,000 subsidized solar home systems to refugees in Northern and Western Uganda.
Sun King
Sun King, a Kenyan off-grid solar energy company, received several investments in 2024, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) $80 million investment in Sun King Nigeria Limited (SNL).
The funding, structured as a senior loan with a tenor of up to seven years, aims to support the company’s growth in Nigeria’s energy sector while mitigating the risks of currency mismatches amid the country’s inflationary pressures.
The startup also secured $7 million in debt funding from Lendable to expand clean energy access on the continent.
BasiGo
BasiGo, a provider of electric bus solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, closed $42 million in new capital to deliver 1,000 electric buses in East Africa in 3 years.
The funding round includes $24 million in Series A equity funding and $17.5 million in debt facilities from British International Investment (BII) and the United States Development Finance Corporation.
Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, led the equity funding round with participation from Novastar Ventures, CFAO Kenya, Mobility54, SBI Investment, Trucks VC, Moxxie Ventures, and Susquehanna Foundation.
Spiro
In May 2024, Spiro signed a $50 million debt financing agreement with Afreximbank, a pan-African supranational multilateral financial institution, to accelerate expansion into Cameroon and Morocco.
This landmark agreement was signed in Kigali, Rwanda, during the Africa CEO Forum, highlighting Spiro’s commitment to enhancing sustainable transportation on the continent.
Moove
Moove, a mobility fintech startup, secured $100 million in a series B funding round to drive its electric vehicles (EVs) expansion plan. This round raised the startup’s valuation to $750 million.
In a statement announcing the round, the startup said the funding would enable it to expand its vehicle financing offering to 16 markets around the world by the end of 2025.
Uber invested in the round alongside Mubadala, who led the previous funding round in 2023. Other investors include The Latest Ventures, Africinvest, Palm Drive Capital, Triatlum Advisors AG, and Future Africa.
Nuitée
Nuitée, a travel tech infrastructure startup, raised $48 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Accel. Other investors and advisors included Booking.com chairman Robert Mylod Jr., HotelTonight founder Sam Shank, Priceline former CEO Jeff Boyd, Stripe CBO Jeanne DeWitt, Shopify CRO Bobby Morrison, Webflow co-founder Bryant Chou, Bird founder Robert Vis, Airwallex founder and CEO Jack Zhang, and P1 Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its product offering, develop new global partnerships, and grow its team.