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Nigeria leads Africa with $635 million raised between January and September 2026.
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Egypt follows with $445 million, while Kenya and South Africa recorded steep declines.
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Nigeria returned to first place for the first time since 2022.
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Africa’s Big Four accounted for 85% of funding raised by country-specific startups.
October 22, (THEWILL) – African startups raised about $2.16 billion between January and September 2026, with Nigeria reclaiming the continent’s top funding position for the first time since 2022.
Nigeria alone attracted $635 million, more than twice the $247 million recorded during the same period in 2025. Egypt was the only other Big Four market to increase its funding year on year, according to Africa: The Big Deal.
Here are the 10 African countries with the highest disclosed startup-funding totals during the first nine months of 2026.
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Nigeria — $635 Million
Nigeria returned to the top after raising $635 million, 2.6 times its total for the same period last year.
Moove’s $250 million round was the largest contributor, followed by Flutterwave at $100 million, Jumia at $50 million and Yellow Card at $40 million. Nigeria also recorded 77 startups raising at least $100,000, the highest number on the continent.
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Egypt — $445 Million
Egypt raised $445 million, representing a 10% increase from the corresponding period in 2025.
It was the only other member of Africa’s traditional Big Four, alongside Nigeria, to record funding growth during the period.
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Kenya — $201 Million
Kenyan startups attracted $201 million, down 73% year on year and the country’s lowest January-to-September funding total since 2020.
Africa: The Big Deal notes that Spiro, which has significant operations in Kenya, is classified as pan-African rather than Kenyan in its database, although Kenya’s decline remains substantial even after that classification is considered.
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South Africa — $182 Million
South Africa recorded $182 million, a 58% decline from the same period last year.
Only 34 South African startups raised at least $100,000, down 36% year on year and the lowest January-to-September tally recorded since Africa: The Big Deal began tracking that threshold in 2021.
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Tanzania — $53 Million
Tanzania led all markets outside the Big Four with $53 million.
Most of that total came from NALA’s $50 million debt facility, meaning one transaction accounted for almost the entire country figure.
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Côte d’Ivoire — $48 Million
Startups in Côte d’Ivoire raised $48 million during the period.
GoCab’s $45 million transaction supplied most of that amount, again showing how a single large round can significantly alter a country’s position in the ranking.
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Zambia — $32 Million
Zambia recorded $32 million in startup funding.
Africa: The Big Deal identified companies including Lupiya, BioLite and Africa GreenCo among those contributing to the country’s total.
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Morocco — $30 Million
Moroccan startups raised $30 million between January and September, placing the North African market eighth among countries with disclosed funding totals.
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Ghana — $21 Million
Ghana attracted $21 million, down 58% from the same period in 2025.
The decline left Ghana behind Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia among markets outside Africa’s Big Four.
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Senegal — $5 Million
Senegal recorded just $5 million, one of the sharpest reversals on the list.
During the same nine months of 2025, it had attracted $153 million and ranked as Africa’s largest startup-funding market outside the Big Four.
Nigeria Leads, But Funding Remains Concentrated
Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa collectively accounted for 85% of funding raised by country-specific African startups, excluding ventures classified as pan-African.
Large individual deals also continue to shape the rankings. Moove supplied almost 40% of Nigeria’s total, while NALA accounted for nearly all of Tanzania’s and GoCab for most of Côte d’Ivoire’s.
Across Africa, 311 startups raised at least $100,000 during the first nine months of 2026, down from 381 a year earlier, even as equity funding increased.
The ranking therefore shows where the largest disclosed pools of capital went, but not necessarily where funding was most widely distributed among startups.
Joy Onuorah is a business journalist and brand communications specialist covering financial markets, artificial intelligence, digital economy, and the ideas reshaping business across Africa and the global market. Beyond her reporting for TheWill, Joy uses brand strategy, storytelling, copywriting, and high-value SEO to help brands build lasting market authority.
