Tech Startups In Nigeria Have Employed 19,334 People As Of 2022

As of August 2022, more than 19,300 people have been employed by Nigerian tech startups, according to the Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report by Disrupt Africa. The report noted fintech companies – Cowrywise, Flutterwave, and Renmoney as the leading startups in terms of employment in Nigeria. These startups were the top three out of the 481 startups in Nigeria that have employed a total of 19,334 people as of August this year. 

The report also noted that the top three tech startups mentioned above have employed a total of 2,003 people. Cowrywise has employed a total of 570 people, Flutterwave 541 and Renmoney 892, as of August 2022. Fintech is the biggest employer of labor accounting for 8,653 jobs, the report stated. “Nigerian startups employ a combined total of 19,334 people, dwarfing the 11,340 employed by their counterparts in South Africa. The average headcount per startup stands at 40. The fintech industry accounts for almost half of Nigerian startup employment, with 8,653 jobs, while between them the fintech, e-commerce, mobility and logistics, and e-health spaces account for 74.9 percent of all jobs,” the report states.

The Disrupt Africa report also added that 6 out of the biggest employers in the Nigerian startup ecosystem are fintech companies. They are; Renmoney, Cowrywise, Fluterwave, TeamApt, FairMoney, and Kuda. “Fintech startups are by far the most common within the Nigerian startup ecosystem, as they are within most other established ecosystems on the continent. A total of 173 companies, 36 percent of the 481 ventures tracked in this report, fall into this category, a figure that is three times larger than the next most populated space, e-commerce, and retail-tech,” the report adds. The report also noted that Lagos is the hub of the Nigerian startup ecosystem. 

“Fintech tends to draw the most attention in the majority of Africa’s startup communities, as well as the lion’s share of funding. In terms of sub-sectors, activity is diverse, through payments and remittances (46 startups, 26.6 percent of Nigerian fintech ventures) and lending and financing (34 startups, 19.7 percent of Nigerian fintech ventures) are clear leaders,” the report noted.

Speaking on the report, Kofoworola Agbaje, senior investment associate, Quona Capital said that “There is much to celebrate about the tech ecosystem in Nigeria. Despite the macroeconomic headwinds and numerous regulatory hurdles, the special breed of entrepreneurs, investors, and operators working in Nigeria have continued to succeed and rake up achievements. Nigeria remains the top VC market on the continent with startups having raised over US$3.7 billion since 2019. In Nigeria (and even on the continent), fintech remains the top industry both in terms of the number of deals and funding amount. This year alone, fintech startups (excluding fintech adjacencies and enablers) account for more than 60 percent of the total funding amount raised by startups in Nigeria. The impact f these achievements on the market has been enormous.”