African startups raised $159.57 million in March 2025, with South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria leading in funding allocations. A notable shift in investment trends has emerged, with nearly half (48.57%) of the capital coming from African investors —almost maintaining February’s share and reflecting growing local investor confidence. European investors contributed 28.57%, while North American participation dropped to 17.14%, and Asian investors accounted for 5.71%.

Launch Base Africa data suggests a growing reliance on local capital as global venture funding faces geopolitical and economic uncertainties. This trend coincides with the restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in January, which has reduced American-led development financing and reflects a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy toward prioritizing national interests.

African Investors Take the Lead

South Africa received the highest share of intra-African investments, followed by Egypt and Nigeria. Key African investors included:

• South Africa: Next176, FNB Vumela Enterprise Development Fund, Edge Growth, Ninety One, Absa Group, AECI Limited, E Squared Investments, Kgodiso Development Fund (PepsiCo’s initiative), Standard Bank Group.
• Nigeria: Atlantica Ventures, EchoVC, All On, LoftyInc Capital.
• Egypt: Algebra Ventures, A Ventures, etc. 
• Kenya: Equator, Enza Capital.
• Others: Witamax and Azur Innovation Management (Morocco), Go Big Partners and 216 Capital Ventures (Tunisia), etc. 

Global Participation Declines

While European investors remained active — particularly from France, the Netherlands, and the UK— North American participation weakened. Although U.S.-based investors remained involved, their overall contribution was lower than in previous months.

The decline follows the suspension of most foreign aid operations and the dismantling of USAID, which had previously supported African startups through development-focused financing. This shift in US foreign policy towards prioritising national interests could have contributed to a more cautious approach by some U.S. investors towards international markets.

Sector Trends: Climate Tech and Fintech Dominate

Climate tech and clean energy startups secured the largest share of funding, reflecting growing investor interest in sustainable solutions. Fintech remained a strong contender, with firms like enza and Rivy attracting notable backing. Logistics and supply chain startups also performed well, while AI saw a rise in activity, highlighted by Widebot’s $3 million raise for Arabic large language model (LLM) development.

Outlook

The increasing dominance of African investors suggests a maturing ecosystem less dependent on foreign capital. However, the dip in U.S. participation raises questions about long-term funding stability, particularly for startups reliant on global venture networks.

As geopolitical shifts reshape investment flows, African startups may need to further diversify funding sources — tapping deeper into local institutional funds, corporate venture arms, and regional private equity to sustain growth.

For now, local investors are stepping up, but whether they can fully offset the retreat of traditional Western backers remains to be seen.

Table 1: African Tech Startup Funding Activity (March 2025)