Disrupt Africa - Afrikan Heroes

Hope Rises as African Tech Startup Funding Passes $2bn Mark

February 2, 2022

The saying that Africa is the next big frontier market seems not to be patronizing as some critics would have many believe, at least not in the tech startup ecosystem where things are genuinely looking up for the continent. This is because investment into the African tech startup ecosystem almost trebled over the course of a record-breaking 2021 that saw total funding pass the US$2 billion mark for the first time.

This is according to the seventh 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 Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa.

The report tells the story of an extraordinary 2021 in which more startups raised more funding than ever before, by quite some way. In all, 564 startups raised a combined US$2,038,627,500 in 2021. This represented incredible growth. The number of funded startups grew by 42.1 per cent to 397 in 2020, and the funding total was almost treble – up 190.6 per cent – the US$701,460,565 banked the previous year.

In all, the number of African startups securing investment has increased by 351.2 per cent since 2015. Though growth had slowed a little in 2020, partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, investors doubled down in 2021, with the number of different investors increasing by more than 100 per cent to 771 from 370 the previous year.

Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya remain Africa’s “big four” from a funding perspective, securing a greater share of total funding between them than in 2020, yet Nigeria soared past all other countries to take top spot, with 161 startups raising a huge combined total of almost US$800 million.

Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan

Though Nigeria and the rest of the “big four” remain clear leaders, there is still plenty of activity elsewhere on the continent, with startups backed in 24 African countries.

The fintech sector was, yet again, the most attractive to investors in 2020, with more startups securing funding than any other sector and a combined total that dwarfed all others. The sector broke the US$1 billion funding barrier, something the African tech space as a whole only managed for the first time in 2021, with fintech accounting for more than half of total investment.

Other sectors also had impressive years – notably e-commerce and retail-tech, e-health, logistics, ed-tech, energy, agri-tech and transport.

Aside from providing a full list of the funded startups, who invested in them, and, where possible, the amount raised, from the previous year, the annual reports also provide deep-dives into investment trends within key startup geographies and verticals, as well as data on African startup acquisitions.

“Momentum has been building in the African tech space for quite some time now, and 2021 will be remembered as a watershed year. Breaking not just the US$1 billion but the US$2 billion mark, creating more unicorns, and about doubling the number of active investors – it was a very good 12 months indeed. It is still just a beginning, however, and there is plenty of room for more growth,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan.

Previously available for sale, the African Tech Startups Funding Report was until the last edition purchased each year by leading tech companies from Africa and the rest of the world, Big Four consulting firms, banking and fintech leaders, venture capital firms, supranational investors and international trade bodies. Now, however, Disrupt Africa releases the publication for free, making it accessible to those for whom the information is most valuable – African entrepreneurs.

This year it is doing this with the help of partners Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa, with whose support Disrupt Africa will be distributing the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021 to as many ecosystem stakeholders as possible.

“For too long access to crucial industry data such as this has been out of reach for active or aspiring entrepreneurs, as they are usually priced out of access,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Tom Jackson. “It is the Disrupt Africa ethos to make as much information freely accessible as possible, and we can’t thank our partners enough for helping us with the open-sourcing of this publication.”

“We have been investing in startups on the continent since 2014 and are encouraged by the tremendous growth of the venture ecosystem since then. Nevertheless, as startups move from proof-of-concept to scale, capital remains scarce. Disrupt Africa’s annual funding report is a critical resource for founders as they climb and navigate a capital ladder that still has missing rungs. We are delighted to partner with the team at Disrupt Africa to ensure their research is accessible to all entrepreneurs. The data and insights in the report are a vital resource, not just for charting the development of the venture ecosystem in Africa, but for supporting it,” said Steve Beck, managing director at Novastar Ventures.

MFS Africa founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou said the African tech ecosystem had experienced unprecedented growth, breaking records year after year.

“It’s the clearest indicator that we are reaching an exciting inflection point in our sector. In the last quarter of 2021, we raised US$100 million in Series funding to accelerate our growth as we make borders matter less. As such we understand the importance of the right funding to build the fundamental infrastructure needed to facilitate interoperability across payment schemes, borders, and currencies. Accurate and informative reports about the ecosystem raise the profile of our sector beyond Africa, and that interest helps to channel much-needed investments in impactful startups. We are absolutely thrilled to support Disrupt Africa on this important project,” he said.

“Quona Capital is proud to support this important work by Disrupt Africa,” said Johan Bosini, partner at Quona Capital. “We are seeing such incredible traction on many fronts of the venture ecosystem in Africa, with major milestones being achieved in large investment rounds and total quantum being invested in technology businesses across the major hubs in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. We all learn and benefit from this industry data, and we are delighted to be part of this important initiative.”

“Once again we are very happy to support this crucial initiative. It is publications like this that help all members of the African ecosystem to get a snapshot as to how and where the industry is moving, and therefore vital to all of our businesses and teams. We cannot thank Tom, Gabriella and the team enough for the effort in putting the report together,” said Anton van Vlaanderen, partner at 4Di Capital.

Ashwin Ravichandran, managing director of MEST Africa, said he was excited to partner Disrupt Africa on this initiative because of the “massive opportunities” it draws to the continent, thereby enabling innovators to do more.

“Because of the work of organisations like Disrupt Africa, there has been a promising and encouraging increase in the data and insights on investments in Africa. This data shines a light on Africa’s burgeoning tech ecosystem while pointing the various ecosystem players towards better and more innovative ways of supporting local businesses to thrive,” he said.

“Tom, Gabriella and the Disrupt Africa team are doing important work in ensuring we have the right data when it comes to measuring the success of the African tech ecosystem. Future Africa is happy to support the Disrupt team in making sure actionable data and insights are available to founders, operators and investors looking to build the future of Africa,” said Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, managing partner of Future Africa

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

Egypt is Poised to Become Africa’s Tech Startup Powerhouse

November 1, 2021

Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa

In recent time, Egypt has made known its dream of becoming a leading techhub in Africa and the Middle East, this necessitated the upshot in startup activity and a massive inflow of capital has seen the Egyptian startup ecosystem establish itself as one of Africa’s “big four” within a relatively short period of time, with the sector’s development aided by proactive government and a strong local startup support system.

According to the newly-released Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 from tech media group, Disrupt Africa, which dives into the local ecosystem by analysing active startups, local support networks, and funding and exit activity over the last seven years.

Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has built up a significant portfolio of publications, most notably the African Tech Startups Funding Report and Finnovating for Africa, previously available for sale but now made available free for all via open-sourcing initiatives with various partners across the continent’s tech ecosystem.

The Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 is the first geographically-focused publication released by the company, made possible by support from key partners the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Global Ventures. Other supporters of the report are AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab) and Quona Capital.

The publication finds that at least 562 tech startups were in operation across Egypt as of September 2021, making it the fourth largest startup ecosystem on the continent, behind only South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. These startups employ almost 13,000 people between them.

E-commerce is the most populated sector, with one-fifth of the country’s tech startups active in that vertical. Indeed, there are almost twice as many e-commerce and retail-tech startups as there are fintech ones, which came in second. Startups are active across a diverse array of spaces, with e-health, ed-tech, logistics, recruitment and AI/IoT also especially busy.

Almost 40 per cent of Egyptian tech startups have undergone some form of acceleration or incubation, an impressive statistic and one that speaks favourably to a local support ecosystem that also incorporates government, corporates and universities.

Increasingly, these startups are also supported by a strong investment ecosystem. At least 318 Egyptian startups have raised almost US$800 million since 2015, according to the report, and capital inflow into the ecosystem has been growing year-on-year. The US$156,248,000 raised in 2020 represents a 1,716 per cent increase on the US$8.6 million banked in 2015, and 2021 looks set to shatter all records. So far, more than 80 Egyptian startups have secured more than US$400 million between them this year.

“Egypt has truly emerged as a tech powerhouse for Africa, and now rivals – and even surpasses – more established startup ecosystems such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya for levels of entrepreneurial innovation and investment. Disrupt Africa is delighted to release its first country-focused report with Egypt as its subject, and thanks its partners for making it free to all,” said Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“In the interest of building bridges between Egypt and the wider continent, the report also looks at a new trend, whereby Egyptian startups are expanding their businesses into Sub-Saharan Africa. Whereas historically Middle Eastern markets would have been more obvious destinations for expansion, more and more Egyptian companies are seeing opportunities in the rest of Africa, and more Africa-focused investors are putting money into Egypt. These are very positive developments,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“As capital allocators, our investment decision-making process is guided by data and market insight. Yet, in the nascent ecosystem of emerging markets, information is not always readily available. Disrupt Africa is stepping in to fill in this gap, and we are thrilled to partner with them for this report on a market we are continuously and exceedingly excited about,” said Basil Moftah, general partner at Global Ventures.

“For the past five years, AUC Venture Lab’s Fintech Accelerator has been committed to enabling fintech entrepreneurs and empowering them with the knowledge and networking opportunities they really need. We are gladly supporting the fintech section of Disrupt Africa’s Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report as it offers insights for anyone looking for information about the space and its key players and the growing ecosystem at large,” said Dr Ayman Ismail, AUC’s Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and AUC V-Lab Director.

“Advanced technology, a rapidly growing economy, and smart regulation have attracted Quona to Egypt as an investor, but access to information is critical for innovation,” says Monica Brand Engel, co-founder and managing partner at Quona Capital, who focuses on the firm’s Africa and MENA investments in fintech and embedded finance. “We are proud to be a partner of this inaugural report from Disrupt Africa, in the hopes that it will spur even more fintech and embedded finance growth in Egypt.”

As with this year’s African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021, which has been downloaded almost 4,000 times, and Finnovating for Africa 2021, released in June and already downloaded 2,000 times, the Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 is available to all for free, making the data and analysis contained in its pages accessible to those for whom the information is most valuable – entrepreneurs.

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

Disrupt Africa: Applications Open for Most Disruptive Startups in Africa.

March 28, 2021

There is a big opportunity for African startups willing to participate in the upcoming Africa corporate disruption accelerator programme which opens doors to a $ 500,000 partnership and prize money of €15,000. The application is open for startups in technology sectors such as FinTech, InsureTech, AgriTech, eCommerce, HealthTech, and CleanTech that can come up with problem solving ideas and apps that can also be monetised to help grow the economy.

Analysts say that the so-called Internet economy is set to reach 5.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, contributing about $180-billion to the African economy . To develop the potential of startups driving the Internet economy, Telecel Group has opened applications for the ASIP Accelerator Program powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech.

The Program helps startups achieve 18-24 months of growth in just three months. Now, the next generation of early-stage African tech startups disrupting a wide range of industry sectors are being sought.

Ten startups will be selected to participate in the Program that will give them access to expert-led masterclasses covering scaling fundamentals – from the business model canvas, and lean methodology, to fundraising.

They will also receive tailored mentorship from carefully selected mentors who will provide hands-on support and valuable introductions. Plus, they will be connected with venture capitalists and angel investors from around the world and get to meet the leading corporates in their industries for pilot projects and partnership opportunities.

Over and above all this, the successful startups will receive €15,000 in cash and have access to over €500,000 in exclusive partner deals from leading technology providers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, HubSpot, and SendGrid, amongst others.

The three-month Program will conclude with a digital Demo Day during which startups will present their newly scaled up solutions to hundreds of investors, corporates, mentors and press attendees. Notably, the participants will continue to receive support long after the Program ends via the Alumni Growth Program which offers access to alumni-only events, deals and tailored introductions.

Twenty-nine startups completed the first Startupbootcamp AfriTech Program and 90% of participating startups are still operating and scaling at impressive rates. What’s more, 40% have raised follow-on rounds of funding, with the average increase in valuation being 10x since their Demo Day.

In addition to corporate partner, Telecel Group, Program sponsors include Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Hubspot, VC4A and Cloudworx. There are a limited number of slots for additional corporate Founding Partners to join the consortium. These partners will have the rare opportunity to help determine the key challenge areas that will be the focus of the Program’s startup scouting and sit on the exclusive selection committee that will choose the top 10 startups to participate in the Program.

Additionally, they will have the chance to engage in curated pilot and proof of concept projects with select startups to accelerate innovation within their organisations. Corporates that are interested to amplify their internal Innovation Agenda can email afritech@startupbootcamp.org.

The completely virtual, Pan-African Program kicks off in July 2021. Applications are open now and will remain so until 14 May. To apply, or for more information, go to https://bit.ly/SBC-ASIP.

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

How African Tech Startups Funding Almost Hit $1 Billion Mark in 2020

January 24, 2021

There are indications that African tech startups are having a bullish run if funding activities in 2020 is anything to go by because the continent tech startups almost braced the $1 billion mark with more startups raising more money, from more investors, than ever before.

Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa

Statistics gleaned from the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 released by Disrupt Africa, a startup news and research portal a copy of which Afrika Heroes accessed show that African tech startups surpassed expectations in 2020.The report finds that new funding records were set over the course of 2020, as 397 startups raised an impressive US$701.5 million in total funding. Both these figures are up substantially on the previous year, with the number of funded startups increasing 27.7 per cent on 2019, and the funding total growing by 42.7 per cent.

Though growth has slowed a little, the numbers represent impressive growth on 2019 in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, and mean the African tech startup ecosystem continues on its positive trajectory from a funding perspective.

This year’s edition of the report also counts at least 370 active investors, marking 42.8 per cent growth on the previous year, when the data tracked 261 investors. This figure was in itself a 68.4 per cent rise on the 155 investors we found in 2018.

Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt remain emphatically Africa’s “big four” from a funding perspective, accounting for 77 per cent of funded startups and 89.2 per cent of total investment. Nigeria (85), Egypt (82) and South Africa (81) lead the way from a ventures perspective, but when it comes to total combined raised capital it is Kenya that is Africa’s leader, with startups from the East African country raising over US$190 million in funding in 2020. Though these markets remain clear leaders, there are signs of growing activity elsewhere on the continent, with startups backed in 24 African countries, up from 19 in 2019, 20 in 2018, and 18 in 2017.

The financial technology sector was, yet again, the most attractive to investors in 2020, with more startups securing funding than any other sector and a combined total that dwarfed all others. In all, 99 fintech startups raised investment over the course of the year, representing 24.9 per cent of the overall total, while the combined amount raised by fintech companies over the course of the year jumped 49.3 per cent to US$160,319,065.

However, growth in fintech investment is slowing to some extent, and other sectors also had impressive years – notably e-commerce and retail-tech, e-health, logistics, energy, recruitment and HR, transport, and agri-tech.

The report is available for free download here. Aside from providing a full list of the funded startups, who invested in them, and, where possible, the amount raised, from the previous year, the annual reports also provide deep-dives into investment trends within key startup geographies and verticals, as well as data on African startup acquisitions.

“The growth in funding seen across the continent’s tech ecosystems in 2020 is extremely strong, and all the more impressive given the circumstances of the year given COVID-19 and its many implications. As African startup funding passes the $700 million mark for the first time, and more investors pump more money into more markets than ever before, there are no signs of the sector slowing down,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“At Disrupt Africa we’ve been tracking investment into the African startup ecosystem for six years now, and it is exciting to see our work and the work of so many others within the ecosystem validated by significant increases in the amount of investment that is available to founders on the continent. This year’s edition of our funding report is especially exciting for us as for the first time we are able to give it away for free to anyone to whom it could be of benefit and for that we are extremely grateful to our many partners,” said Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

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