More Than 100 African Startups Have Raised their First $1 Million In 2022, Egypt And Nigeria Lead The Pack

More than 100 startups in Africa have raised their first $1 million (or more) so far this year, according to a report by The Big Deal. According to this report, as of last week, there were more than 100 African startups that have raised their first $1 million (or more) round this year. The report only took into consideration deals that have been announced. 

As of the 31st of August, there were only 99 African startups that had raised their first $1 million (or more) round, The Big Deal reported. The number has, however, since surpassed 100. Compared to prior years, 2022 is a remarkable year of funding for African startups. At the end of August 2019, there were only 40 African startups that met the mark. The metric stood at 55 and 72 in 2020 and 2021 respectively. It is pertinent to know that in the whole of 2021, only 112 African startups raised their first $1 million, and by the looks of it, 2022 will surpass this mark.

The Big Four had the largest share in the startups that had raised their first $1 million (or more) round

Out of these 100 startups that had raised their first $1 million (or more) round, 84 percent of them were from the “Big Four” – Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. 29 Egyptian startups, 28 Nigerian startups, 17 Kenyan startups, and 9 South African startups made the list. Cumulatively, the Big Four had 83 startups that had raised their first $1 million (or more) round. The remaining startups came from 8 African countries which can claim at least one such deal.

Pre-seed and Seed rounds made most of these deals

In 2019 and 2020, seed and Series A rounds saw investments of at least $1 million. Only a few of these were pre-seed rounds. A shift has however happened. Since 2021, the share of pre-seed and seed round worth $1 million now exceed 80 percent.

How much are these deals worth?

While the mark for The Big Deal’s report was set at $1 million, the amount raised by 84 percent of these startups stands between $1 million and $5 million. The Big Deal reported a median amount of just above $2 million. This is nearing pre-pandemic levels ($2.1 million in 2019). 2020 and 2021 saw a decline with medians of 41.5 million and $1.7 million respectively.

How many of these startups are female-led?

According to the Big Deal’s report, only 11 percent of these startups have a female CEO. The rest are being led by men.

In summary

• 99 startups in Africa had raised their first $1 million (or more) round in 2022 as of August 31st.
• 84 percent of them have their HQ in one of the “Big Four” – Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
• 70 percent of them were less than 3 years old when raising their first $1 million (or more) round.
• 73 percent of these rounds were labeled either pre-seed or seed rounds.
• $2 million is the median amount of funding raised in these first $1 million (or more) rounds.
• 11 percent only of the startups in question have a woman CEO.