Nigeria leads Africa’s equity funding in H1 2026 with $214m, as early-stage investment grows

Nigeria has emerged as the most preferred destination for equity funding in the first half of 2026, as startups across the country raised $214 million in the first six months of the year. This is according to data from the funding analytics platform, Africa The Big Deal.

Per the data, equity funding into the Nigerian tech startup space trumped second-placed Egypt, which raised $183 million, marking a nearly 17 per cent difference. It is also 224 per cent more than the $66 million raised in South Africa during the half, and an overwhelming 365 per cent more than the $46 million equity funding raised in Kenya.

Nigeria also did quite well in the total funding numbers for the first half of the year, with startups raising $254 million in equity, debt and grants. This comes after a massively underwhelming 2025, when $343 million was raised in the country. It also puts the country on course to better the $410 million raised in 2024.

While Nigeria’s total funding number is impressive, it is not the highest recorded during the half. Egypt emerged as the most-funded African country in the first half, with startups in the North African country raising $327 million in the first six months of the year. This is 28.7 per cent higher than second-placed Nigeria.

Kenya came third in overall venture funding numbers with startups in the East African country raising $126 million, while South Africa completes the Big 4 with a total raise of $83 million during the half-year. Overall, Africa’s Big 4 contributed 58 per cent of the total $1.37 billion raised in the first half.

Tanzania is the country with the highest funding outside the Big 4, with startups in the East African country raising $52 million. Next is Ivory Coast, which raised $45 million and then Morocco with $28 million from January to June 2025.

See also: African startups raised $1.4 billion in H1 2026 off a $515 million windfall in June

Early-stage funding on the rise in Nigeria

Aside from the improvement in both total and equity funding, Nigeria also recorded the highest number of startups raising funding during the first half, with 40 Nigerian startups raising at least $100,000. This is way more than the 26 startups that raised funding in Egypt.

Kenya came third with 25 startups recorded between January and June 2026, while South Africa brings up the rear with only 19 ventures.

Outside of the Big 4, 12 Tanzania and Morocco recorded 12 startups each raising at least $100,000 during the half. Ghana recorded 10 startups, Uganda has 7 startups, and Tunisia has 5.

Overall, the fintech sector continues to attract the most funding, with 41 per cent of the total $1.37 billion raised in the first half coming to the sector. This was followed by the climate tech space, which attracted 39 per cent of the total funding.

Logistics and transport attracted 35 per cent, while agritech and food had only seven per cent. Traditional sectors like healthtech and edutech were glaringly missing from the lineup, a pointer to how massively ignored and overlooked these sectors are.