Africa’s startups managed to raise USD 757.29 Million according to a report by release by AfriCo and Weetracker. This, however, is a huge decline compared to USD 1.340 Billion that was raised by start-ups in 2019 (427 deals ). The USD 582.71 Million decline in the Venture capital could mainly be attributed to the effects of the Corona Virus pandemic that saw businesses struggle to cope with the difficult times.
On a good note, the raised amount is slightly above 2018’s USD 725.6 million, a monumental year in the history of the African startup ecosystem that saw the Africa venture capital figure improve with 458 deals secured that year.
This year’s venture capital was raised in 478 deals that are in both disclosed and privately disclosed deals to Weetracker in form of equity, debt, acceleration/incubation, prizes & grants.
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Insights on the Africa Venture Capital 2020 Report.
Nigeria continued to take lead among countries that bagged the most leads with 129 companies. It was followed by Kenya with 90 companies and South Africa coming in 3rd with 83 companies.
Stripe’s $200m acquisition of Nigeria’s PayStack in November was the biggest continental deal this year. Other top deals this year include South Africa’s Jumo that secured USD 55 Mn, early this year, Chipper Cash’s $30 million, and Kenya’s Twiga that landed a $30 million deal.
Whereas we had a decline in the total amount raised, there was an increase in the number of deals as compared to the previous year that is 2019 with 427 deals and 2020 coming in with 478 deals.
In terms of industries, financial services, healthcare and eCommerce were industries with maximum investment in terms of amount & number of deals among the industries. Jumo, Flutterwave and Chipper Cash formed a big chunk of investments under the fintech category.
For more details on the report, read : African Venture Capital Stands At USD 757.29 Mn In 2020 – AfriCo & WeeTracker Report
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