2020 was a record breaking year for investment in the African tech start-up ecosystem, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with more start-ups raising more capital from more investors than ever before.
New funding milestones were set over the course of 2020, 397 start-ups raised US$701.5M in total funding, according to a report published by Disrupt Africa.
Among the top sectors to be funded were sectors such as: Fintech; Ecommerce; Healthcare; Logistics; Energy; HR; Ed-tech; Agritech; Transport; Entertainment.
Once again, the financial technology market was the most lucrative for investors in 2020, with more startups receiving financing than any other sector.
From a funding perspective, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt remain the “big four” of Africa, accounting for 77 percent of funded start-ups and 89.2 percent of overall investment.
Nigeria – 85 startups – 150,358,000 USD in funding
Egypt – 82 startups – 141, 397,000 USD in funding
South Africa – 81 startups – 142,523,000 USD in funding
Kenya – 59 startups – 191,381,000 USD in funding
Ghana – 15 startups – 19,897,000 USD in funding