Nigeria topped Africa’s startup funding rankings in the first nine months of 2026, attracting $635mn, or 2.6 times the $247mn recorded in the same period of 2025, although a handful of large transactions accounted for most of the increase.
The total was Nigeria’s highest January–September figure since 2022 and represented 37% of funding assigned to country-specific African startups, excluding ventures classified as pan-African, according to Africa: The Big Deal in its October 20 report.
Four companies accounted for $440mn, or 69% of Nigeria’s total: mobility financing company Moove ($250mn), payments company Flutterwave ($100mn), e-commerce group Jumia ($50mn) and stablecoin infrastructure provider Yellow Card ($40mn).
Flutterwave’s $100mn figure is an estimate used by the tracker. The company confirmed a Ripple-backed Series E financing round in June at a valuation of about $3.2bn but did not disclose the amount raised. Jumia Technologies (NYSE: JMIA) announced agreements for a $50mn equity raise anchored by the International Finance Corporation in August, while Yellow Card confirmed the closing of its $40mn strategic funding round that month.
Moove’s inclusion reflects the tracker’s geographic classification. The Nigeria-founded company raised $250mn in a Series C round but announced in October that it was concluding its Nigerian operations. Its inclusion in the country’s funding total does not establish that the proceeds will be invested domestically.
Beyond the largest transactions, 77 Nigerian startups raised at least $100,000, up from 70 a year earlier and more than in any other African country tracked.
Egypt ranked second with $445mn, up 10% year on year, while Kenya’s funding fell 73% to $201mn and South Africa’s declined 58% to $182mn. The tracker attributed part of Kenya’s decline to its classification of electric mobility company Spiro as pan-African rather than Kenyan.
Across Africa, startup funding declined approximately 4% to $2.16bn from $2.24bn a year earlier, with equity investment rising 23% to about $1.5bn while debt financing contracted 33% to $669mn.
Logistics and transport overtook fintech as the largest sector by funding value, attracting $780mn, or 36% of the continental total, against fintech’s $760mn, or 35%.
The sector’s lead depended heavily on Spiro and Moove, which accounted for $345mn and $250mn respectively. Their combined $595mn represented approximately 76% of logistics and transport funding.
Fintech remained the largest sector by number of funded companies, with 80 ventures raising at least $100,000.
Despite the relatively stable continental funding total, the number of African startups securing at least $100,000 fell 18% to 311 from 381 a year earlier. Transactions worth $10mn or more accounted for 83% of funding, up from 78% in the corresponding period of 2025.
The concentration in larger transactions was already evident in the first half. A separate TechCabal Insights dataset put African technology startup funding at $1.44bn, up 1.4% year on year, with the 30 largest recipients capturing 84% of capital.
Mainstack chief executive Ayobami Oyaleke warned in an October 17 interview with The Guardian that fundraising totals were an inadequate measure of startup performance. “We should ask whether companies can serve customers, earn revenue, manage risk, and grow beyond the next round,” he said, calling for greater emphasis on sustainable revenue, customer retention and access to early-stage capital.
Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa together accounted for 85% of funding assigned to country-specific ventures during January–September, according to Africa: The Big Deal.
The tracker records funding transactions of at least $100,000, including equity, debt and grants but excluding exits. Its country and sector totals depend on its geographic classifications and treatment of individual transactions, and differ from estimates produced using other datasets.
See IntelliNews: African startup funding steadies at $1.44bn as debt, climate tech and consolidation reshape market – report