Nigerian startups have raised $635 million in 2026, more than Kenya and South Africa combined

Venture funding into the Nigerian startup space appears to be witnessing a resurgence as startups based in the country have raised $635 million between January and September 2026, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal. This marks a vast improvement from the same period in 2025, when they raised $247 million, representing a 157 per cent increase.

Nigeria’s resurgence was driven by two mega rounds and several large rounds, the largest among them being Moove, the e-mobility startup, which raised $250 million in a Series C funding round, lifting its valuation to $2.1 billion.

Flutterwave is the second Nigerian startup which attracted a mega round in 2026 after the leading payments infrastructure company secured a strategic $100 million investment from Ripple as part of a Series E funding round that values the company at $3.2 billion.

Jumia, the e-commerce startup that has managed an impressive turnaround in its fortunes, also contributed heavily to Nigeria’s startup venture funding. The company secured $50 million in equity funding to support its operations while striving to expand its marketplace and avoid the excessive spending that characterised its earlier years.

Next is Yellow Card, which closed a $40 million strategic funding round to scale Global USD Accounts, its end-to-end dollar account for businesses, and expand the stablecoin rails connecting it to markets worldwide.

This, once again, places Nigeria as the top destination for venture funding on the continent, well above Kenya, which has occupied the top spot over the last two years. Behind Nigeria is Egypt, where startups have raised $445 million, representing a 10 per cent increase from the $404.5 million raised during the same period the previous year.

The Kenyan startup space witnessed a troubling drought in venture funding, with startups around the East African country attracting $201 million during the first nine months of 2026. This is a significant 73 per cent drop from $744.4 million raised during the first nine months of 2025 and the lowest recorded in the country since 2020. The drop in startup investments into the East African country is connected to the drop in investments into energy startups, which had driven funding into the country over the last few years.

South Africa emerged as the least funded of the Big Four African ecosystems, with startups around the country raising $182 million. This represents a 58 per cent drop from the $433.3 million raised in the same period last year.

Overall, Africa’s Big Four (Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa) continue to dominate the continent’s venture funding space, controlling 85 per cent of startup investments coming to them. This is an impressive rise from 83 per cent of the share attracted in 2025. This is well within the 78-89 per cent range that has been witnessed every year since 2019.

Nigeria leads in number of venture funding deals

Aside from the major venture funding rounds, 77 other Nigerian startups that recorded at least $100,000 in funding also contributed to Nigeria’s impressive run in 2026. This is more than the 70 recorded in the same period last year. Indeed, Nigeria is the only country among the Big Four that recorded any increase in the number of ventures that attracted funding.

In Kenya, 45 startups have announced funding, a 32 per cent drop. Egypt witnessed 40 rounds, a 29 per cent drop, while South Africa recorded 34 rounds, representing a 36 per cent YoY drop. Indeed, both Kenya and South Africa recorded the lowest Q1-Q3 tallies since 2021.

Aside from Africa’s Big Four, other countries that attracted significant venture funding in the first nine months of the year include Tanzania, where startups raised $53 million, mostly due to NALA’s $50 million debt raise. Startups in the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire raised $48 million, mostly coming from GoCab‘s $45 million raise.

Others include Zambia, where startups like Lupiya, BioLite and Africa GreenCo raised a combined $32 million; Morocco and Ghana, where startups raised $30 million and $21 million respectively; and Senegal, where startups have raised only $5 million after raising $153 million in the same period last year.