African tech’s gender problem is only getting worse, with just 20.2 per cent of 633 funded ventures in 2022 having a female founder, down from 21.5 per cent in 2021.

This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa, which is available free to all as part of an open-sourcing initiative in partnership with Flat6Labs, MarketForce, 4Di Capital, Mercy Corps Ventures, Newtown Partners, and InsiderPR.

The report tells the story of an impressive 2022 in which more startups raised more funding than ever before, in spite of a global downturn in investments. In all, 633 startups raised a combined US$3,333,071,000 in 2022. This represented incredible growth. The number of funded startups increased by 12.2 per cent to 564 in 2021, while the total secured funding jumped 55.1 per cent to US$2,148,517,500 in 2021.

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Yet while overall numbers are on the rise, female representation relatively declined. Only 128 of the 633 funded African tech startups have at least one woman on their founding team, which is marginally up from 121 in 2021 but still represented a percentage decline to 20.2 per cent from 21.5 per cent.

It is difficult to compare too many African ecosystems in this regard given many of them lack a critical mass of ventures raising, but we can take a look at Africa’s leading seven destinations from a funding perspective, as each of these nations had at least 20 funded ventures.

Kenya was the “best” performer when it came to female representation amongst funded ventures, with 26.4 percent of startups having at least one female co-founder. Morocco was also a relatively good performer, with 25.9 per cent, while South Africa had 23.1 per cent. Tunisia (21.7%) and Nigeria (20.6%) were marginally above average. Ghana (17.4%) and Egypt (13.7%) are underperformers.

Not great news, then. There were more positive developments elsewhere, however. The issue around non-African founders securing funding in Africa is well-documented, but is slowly but surely becoming less of a problem. In 2022, 600 of the 633 funded startups – 94.8 per cent – had at least one local in the founding team, up from 500 (88.7%) in 2021.

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Local representation, then, is growing, though 33 of the funded startups in 2022 – 5.2 per cent – were entirely founded by expats. Sixty-five (10.3%) had at least one expatriate in their founding team, down from 93 (16.5%) in 2021, while 568 (89.7%) had only local founders, up from 471 (83.5%) in 2021.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

African tech startups raised more funding in the first six months of 2022 than they did across the entirety of 2021, with total investment hitting US$2.275 billion.

The seventh edition of Disrupt Africa’s annual African Tech Startups Funding Report, released in January, found 564 startups raised a combined US$2,148,517,500 in 2021, a record for a calendar year.

Yet that record has already fallen within the first half of 2022, in which 303 startups banked a whopping US$2.275 billion, meaning 2022 is already the best year ever for investment into the ecosystem. It means the sector is on course to increase total funding raised by 100 per cent year-on-year.

Nigeria is leading the way, with 98 companies having raised a combined US$691.8 million since January. This is still short of the US$903,680,000 raised by Nigerian ventures in 2021, though that target is easily surpassable given the current rate of investment.

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Egypt comes in second, as it did in 2021, though the US$521 million raised by Egyptian startups in 2022 already represents growth on last year, when the overall total was US$445.8 million. Kenya, in third, has seen US$447.4 million raised by 45 startups, more than US$150 million more than the US$292 million the country raked in across 2021.

So far, South Africa is having a relatively disappointing year compared to other members of the “big four”, with US$263.6 million raised by 30 companies. This still means, however, that the country is on course to better 2021’s total of US$336,405,000.

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Once again, fintech is proving the main driver of investment on the continent, with 109 fintech startups having raised a total of US$1,111,570,000 in 2022 so far, already more than the US$ 1,038,456,500 banked in 2021.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

There are positive indications that African tech startups are in for a wonderful year in 2022 as they have raised more than US$1 billion in the first two months of the year which is more than half the amount raised in the entirety of 2021.

Investment into the African tech startup ecosystem trebled over the course of a record-breaking 2021 that saw total funding pass the US$2 billion – and indeed the US$1 billion – mark for the first time.

It could be recalled that the seventh edition of Disrupt Africa’s annual African Tech Startups Funding Report found 564 startups raised a combined US$2,148,517,500 in 2021, but that record is already well on the way to being beaten in 2022.

As of March 1, 110 startups have raised US$1,123,556,000 this year, a figure that is already more than half (52.3%) last year’s total with five-sixths of the year still to go. Indeed, if funding carries on this way, new records could be set as soon as April.

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This skyrocketing investment is being driven by Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa for now. As of 2021, Nigeria is the leader, with 33 startups having banked a combined US$364,598,000 (32.5 per cent of the total). Twenty Kenyan startups have raised US$223,450,000 (19.9 per cent of the total), and 16 South African startups have secured US$219,930,000 (19.6 per cent of the total).

For now Egypt, second last year for total investment, is having a relatively slow 2022 compared to the other major ecosystems, with 21 startups having raised a total of US$102,220,000 (9.1 per cent of the total) this year so far. 

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Once again, fintech is proving the main driver of investment on the continent, with 34 fintech startups having raised a total of US$434,296,000 in 2022 so far, or 38.7 per cent of the overall tally. Other sectors are playing a relatively bigger role, however, as fintech’s share of the 2021 total was only just shy of the 50 per cent mark.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry