Nigerian tech startup funding highest in Africa

Nigerian tech startup funding has been the highest in Africa for the past eight years, according to Disrupt Africa, with fintech dominating the funding.

The Nigerian tech startup scene has attracted the highest levels of tech startup funding across Africa over the past eight years, with fintech leading the way, according to Disrupt Africa, a startup-focused research platform.

The Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report 2022 lists 481 Nigerian tech startups, the vast majority of which are based in Lagos, the country’s capital. Fintech is the leading sector, according to the report, with 36% of the listed startups operating in the sector.

The report was released in partnership with Quona Capital, a VC firm, MAX, the builders of Africa’s largest mobility-tech platform and Sabi, a leading commercial infrastructure provider.

Nigerian tech startup funding

According to the report, between January 2015 and August 2022, 383 tech startups raised a combined USD 2.068 billion, the highest total in Africa. To date, in 2022, 107 Nigerian startups have raised USD 747.9 million, according for approximately 33% of funding over the period and close to last year’s total of USD 793.79 million.

Further statistics

15.6% of the studied startups have a female founder, just under half of the companies have been involved with an incubator or accelerator and the 481 total tracked startups employ just under 20,000 people.

“Nigeria has long been a pioneering startup ecosystem on the African continent, leading the way in various sectors and increasingly becoming a focus for investment. It is high time we dug deeper into its growth, and this report does just that. We hope it serves as a valuable resource for both those already active in Nigeria and those looking to start doing business there soon,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“It is core to our identity as a company that we offer entrepreneurs – both active and aspiring – access to pivotal information, resources and opportunities with which to take their businesses to scale. The democratisation of data, and the release of detailed industry reports free of charge, is central to that, and with that in mind we hugely appreciate the assistance of all our partners, who are doing their bit to ensure this report reaches as many people as possible,” said Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“As a venture capital firm firmly invested in the success of African startups, Quona is pleased to support Disrupt Africa’s endeavor to make this informative report freely available to the broader ecosystem,” said Kofoworola Agbaje, senior investment associate at Quona Capital in Lagos. “Nigeria’s fintech startup scene is responsible for some of the most interesting innovations on the continent, and we’re delighted to help shine a light on its progress.”

“What we are trying to do at Sabi, is be a platform that is enabling businesses across the value chain, get to the next level and be more efficient in what they do so that everybody has a better net benefit,” said Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, CEO of Sabi.

“At MAX, we believe that the key to unlocking Africa’s incredible potential is to help people and goods move from point A to point B. Unfortunately, systemic infrastructure and resource challenges mean it is unlikely that it will be governments or large corporations that will solve this challenge. Instead, we believe that the solution lies in empowering entrepreneurs – and that technology platforms like MAX will be vital for doing so. Like MAX, innovative businesses across Nigeria are creating new solutions to some of our continent’s most pressing challenges. It gives us great pleasure to partner with Disrupt Africa to share some of the remarkable progress being made, through the publication of the Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report 2022,” said Adetayo Bamiduro, CEO and co-founder of MAX.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Across the MENA region, startups generated USD 378 million in August, an increase on the previous month of 260%.