Nigerian startups raised $635 million in the first nine months of 2026, reclaiming Africa's leading position for startup funding as investment declined sharply in Kenya and South Africa, according to Africa: The Big Deal, a platform tracking African startups that raise at least $100,000. The amount was 2.6 times the $247 million raised in the same period of 2025 and Nigeria's highest nine-month total since 2022. Nigeria accounted for 37 percent of funding raised by startups headquartered in individual African countries, excluding pan-African ventures, its highest share since 2021. Max Cuvellier Giacomelli of Africa: The Big Deal identified Nigeria's resurgence as the major geographical development in the continent's startup funding market. The country was the only one among Africa's four largest startup markets to record an increase in the number of funded ventures, with 77 Nigerian startups raising at least $100,000 during the period, up from 70 a year earlier.
However, the recovery was heavily concentrated among a handful of large transactions. Moove, a mobility fintech company, raised $250 million, Flutterwave secured $100 million, Jumia attracted $50 million and Yellow Card raised $40 million. Together, the four companies accounted for $440 million, or about 69 percent of Nigeria's total startup funding in the first nine months of 2026. Giacomelli's analysis highlights the importance of distinguishing between headline funding totals and the number of companies actually securing investment. While Nigeria's increase in funded ventures provides evidence that its recovery extends beyond the largest transactions, the concentration of capital remains significant.
Logistics and transport overtook fintech to become Africa's largest recipient of startup funding, attracting $780 million in the first nine months of 2026, compared with $760 million for fintech. The logistics sector accounted for 36 percent of total startup funding during the period, its highest share since tracking began, compared with just 7 percent in the same period of 2025. The shift towards logistics was largely driven by two companies: Spiro, an electric motorcycle company, which raised $345 million, and Moove, which together accounted for approximately three-quarters of the sector's funding. Without these two companies, logistics and transport startups would have raised approximately $185 million, broadly in line with previous years.
Nigeria's rebound contrasted with weaker fundraising across other major African startup markets. Kenyan startups raised $201 million in the first nine months of 2026, down 73 percent from the same period of 2025, while South Africa's funding fell 58 percent to $182 million. Egypt remained comparatively stable at $445 million, up 10 percent year-on-year. Kenya recorded 45 funded ventures, down 32 percent year-on-year, while Egypt had 40, a decline of 29 percent. South Africa recorded 34, down 36 percent. For Kenya and South Africa, the figures represented their lowest January-to-September tallies since Africa: The Big Deal began tracking transactions in 2021.
Startups with at least one woman co-founder accounted for 28 percent of ventures raising at least $100,000 in the first nine months of 2026, representing 86 startups, but captured only 8.9 percent of total funding, compared with 8.5 percent a year earlier. The median funding round for startups with at least one woman co-founder was $240,000, less than a third of the $750,000 median for startups with at least one man co-founder. Startups with women-only founding teams raised a combined $16 million, representing less than one percent of total startup funding during the period. Giacomelli's analysis suggests that the concentration of capital in larger transactions is particularly disadvantageous for women-founded ventures, which tend to raise smaller rounds on average.