Nigeria Reclaims Africa’s Startup Funding Lead With $635 Million Raised

Nigerian startups raised $635 million between January and September 2026, reclaiming Nigeria’s position as Africa’s top startup-funding destination. The figure is 2.6 times the $247 million recorded in the same period of 2025 and has already exceeded Nigeria’s full-year total for last year. Investment tracker Africa: The Big Deal reported that 77 Nigerian startups raised at least $100,000 during the period. Nigeria accounted for 37 per cent of funding raised by startups operating in individual African countries, excluding pan-African businesses. Moove led the largest deals with $250 million, followed by Flutterwave with $100 million, Jumia with $50 million and Yellow Card with $40 million. These four companies accounted for about 69 per cent of Nigeria’s total funding. Nigeria’s recovery came as Kenya’s funding fell 73 per cent to $201 million and South Africa’s dropped 58 per cent to $182 million. Egypt attracted $445 million, while logistics and transport overtook fintech as Africa’s most-funded startup sector.

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