Market research shows that Africa’s Fintech space has experienced tremendous growth over the last year, due to an increase in mega-deal investments.

According to the Briter Bridges Africa Investment Report 2021, the volume of deals doubled compared to the previous year, signalling a bounce back from the 2020 pandemic year.

“Approaching US$5-billion in know funding in 2021, especially after nearly 24 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, is a clear sign that Africa is undergoing tangible changes, and the increasing presence of local exits and returns is shaping the continent’s attractiveness,” said Dario Giuliani, a director at Briter Bridges.

In the 480 deals announced in the year, 62% of funding announcements came from Fintech, which means the growth of digital payments, micro banking and money transfers have been buoyed by the pandemic.

An excerpt from the report reads: “Financial technology companies continue to capture the largest share of funding on the continent, capturing almost two-thirds of funding into the technology companies operating across Africa.”

According to AfriDigest analysis, last year saw 11 companies record deals of over US$100-million, with nine being purely in the Fintech space.

Opay was leading with the highest deal of 2021, with US$400-million raised at a US$2-billion valuation. Others were Wave and Andela with US$200-million funding, respectively.

Other sectors with notable investments following Fintech were in health and biotech, logistics and clean energy which recorded

Chari.ma’s founder and CEO, Ismael Belkhayat is seeing the double growth of funding in Africa could signal greater opportunities in the future. The Moroccan supply chain company also raised US$5-million in 2021 and is bullish about 2022.

“If the % increase in 2022 is as high as the one of 2021, the total amount of capital raised by African Startups in 2022 may hit USD 10Bn,” Belkhayat stated.