African fintech firms shine in Q3 fund-raising efforts
Fintech companies surpassed other sectors in fundraising in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, as the overall African tech start-up sector raised a total of $356 million, up 264.69% from $97.6 million the previous quarter (Q2 2024).
High-tech and enterprise infrastructure ranked second and third, respectively.
Fintech start-ups raised 633% and 169% more funding than in Q2 2024 and Q3 2023. The high-tech segment showed a 953% increase in funding in Q3 2024, compared to Q2 2024, and a 541% increase from Q3 2023.
Enterprise infrastructure companies saw a 642.57% increase in funding in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the second quarter of 2024.
This is according to Tracxn, a global SaaS-based market intelligence platform, which recently released its newest Geo Quarterly Report: Africa Tech Q3 2024.
The research provides insight into the African technology sector. Data for Q3 2024 was collected from 1 July to 20 September.
Tracxn says the African start-up sector attracted late-stage investments worth $50 million in Q3 2024, an increase of 50.6% compared to $33.2 million raised in Q3 2023.
Seed-stage funding rose 5.14% to $64.2 million in Q3 2024, from $61.1 million in Q3 2023.
Early-stage funding rose 75.09% to $242 million in Q3 2024, from $138 million raised in Q3 2023.
It states that Q3 of 2024 did not witness any initial public offerings or new unicorns.
“The African tech start-up ecosystem witnessed four acquisitions in Q3 2024, as against seven and nine in Q2 2024 and Q3 2023, respectively. Hisa, Quizac, DawnDusk and Quicket were acquired in Q3 2024.”
The report adds: “Giza (Egypt) took a strong lead in terms of city-wise funding across the continent. Start-ups based in Giza raised $163.1 million in Q3 2024, followed by those based in Cairo ($59 million) and Nairobi ($51.4 million).”
According to the survey, the top three investors in the African tech sector are Y Combinator, Flat6Labs and 500 Global.
In Q3 2024, the top seed-stage investors in Africa's tech ecosystem were EQ2 Ventures, Renew Capital and Equitable Ventures, while Nyca Partners, Acrew Capital and EBRD led in early-stage investments.