African startups raised $2.2B in 2024, 25% less than 2023

Startups in Africa raised US$2.2 billion in 2024 in equity, debt and grants (excluding exits) but this was an almost 25% drop compared to the $2.9 billion that was raised by startups on the continent in 2023.

That is according to the latest data from Africa: The Big Deal, which showed that a total of 188 ventures raised $1 million or more in 2024 (excluding exits), which is 10% less than in 2023.

On the exit front, there were 22 exits made public in 2024, versus 20 in 2023.

(Source: Africa: The Big Deal)

The downturn in funding echoed what happened a year ago when funding for African startups dropped by 39% between 2022 and 2023.

Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, co-founder of Africa: The Big Deal, said that despite the funding drop its not all doom and gloom for startups in Africa.

"Indeed, if we zoom in a little, we realise that the relative counter-performance of 2024 is mostly to be blamed on a slow start of the year: just under $800m raised in H1, the slowest semester since 2020," he said in a post on the group's website.

However, there was a good rebound in the later part of the year as $1.4 billion was raised in H2 alone – up 25% year-over-year (YoY) and growing 80% compared to H1 – which made it the second-best semester since the beginning of the "funding winter" in mid-2022.

Related:African startup funding down 39% in 2023, regional split improves

New African unicorns

The second half uptick was driven in part by major deals from Moniepoint and Tyme Group in the final quarter of the year, giving both groups unicorn status with valuations of over $1 billion.

According to Africa: The Big Deal Tyme became Africa's ninth unicorn in December 2024 after announcing a $250 million Series D round and a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Moniepoint gained unicorn status in October 2024 after announcing a $60 million Series C round, pushing its valuation to over $1 billion.

"Another reason to remain positive is that the YoY decline in funding is mostly attributable to a decline in debt funding. You may remember we'd dubbed 2023 'The Year of the Debt', and while the share of debt in the overall funding announced remained high in 2024 (30%), it was not as high as it was in 2023 (38%)," Cuvellier Giacomelli explained.

Africa: The Big Deal found that while debt funding contracted by 40% YoY in 2024, the total equity raised in 2024 ($1.5 billion) was only 11% down from the 2023 numbers ($1.7 billion).

He said that it is encouraging to see equity levels stabilizing, after taking a big hit in 2023 when this type of funding contracted 57% YoY.