African tech startups have raised approximately $2.34 billion in 2025, surpassing the widely reported $2.2 billion total for the whole of 2024. A robust September, which saw startups raise over $142 million, has pushed the continent’s funding past last year’s level, largely driven by significant participation from European investors.

The new total, a combination of the roughly $2.2 billion raised by the end of August and September’s figures, signals renewed investor confidence in the continent’s tech ecosystems. This milestone, reached with a full quarter of the year still to go, suggests a potential return to the funding highs of previous years.

September’s Standouts

The funding landscape in September was varied, with significant capital flowing into fintech, agritech, and climate-tech ventures.

Nigeria’s Kredete, a fintech focused on remittances, led the month’s fundraising with a $22 million Series A round. The investment was notably led by a consortium of international investors, including Tunisia’s AfricInvest Group and France’s Partech.

Kenya’s SunCulture, an agritech and climate-tech company, also secured a substantial $15 million in receivables financing. Other major deals included a $13.5 million round for South African identity verification startup Contactable and a $12.5 million Series A for AI company Intella, which operates in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

European Capital Flows In
A key driver of September’s activity was the strong presence of European investment firms. Analysis of the month’s deals shows that investors from Europe were the most active, participating in some of the largest rounds. This represents a notable shift from August, when US investors had dominated the funding landscape.

• UK-based British International Investment (BII) deployed capital into two companies: a $7.5m funding facility for Odyssey Energy Solutions and a $7.5m debt round for Nigerian agritech company Babban Gona.
• Norway’s Norfund, another development finance institution, backed cleantech ventures MOPO and the Mohinani Group in separate transactions.
• French venture capital firm Partech participated in the month’s largest round, a $22m Series A for Nigerian fintech Kredete, alongside Tunisia’s AfricInvest Group and Cyprus-based Polymorphic Capital.
• Netherlands-based Prosus led a $12.5m Series A for AI company Intella, which operates across Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
• The European activity extended beyond development finance institutions. French funds Orange Ventures and Newfund Capital participated in a €3.5m late seed round for Tunisia-France cybersecurity startup Nucleon Security, while UK energy company Octopus Energy joined a $13.3m round for cleantech company MOPO.

This trend highlights a continued and deepening interest from European funds in the growth potential of African markets, particularly in sectors addressing fundamental economic and environmental needs.

Sector Trends Show Climate-Tech Momentum
Fintech maintained its position as the top-funded sector, attracting $43.2m across eight startups in September. However, climate-related sectors collectively drew $61.7m when combining agritech, cleantech, and climate-tech categories, representing 43% of disclosed funding. This climate focus reflects growing investor appetite for solutions addressing agricultural productivity and energy access across the continent.

• SunCulture raised twice during the month through different financing mechanisms, while MOPO secured funding in two separate rounds totalling $20m, matching SunCulture’s combined total.
• AI-focused startups attracted $18.1m across five deals, with Egypt emerging as a notable hub. Beyond Intella’s Series A, the country saw investments in AI customer experience platform Tactful AI and edtech startup LRNOVA, both securing undisclosed amounts.

The emergence of debt financing as a significant funding mechanism also marked September’s activity. Five startups raised $27.5m through debt instruments, representing 19% of disclosed funding. This shift suggests ecosystem maturation, with more startups generating sufficient revenue or assets to secure non-dilutive capital.

Geographic and Sector Focus
In September, funding was concentrated in the continent’s traditional tech hubs. Nigeria led the way with eight deals, followed by Kenya and South Africa, each with six.

By sector, Fintech and Agritech continued to attract the most capital, reflecting their critical role in the continent’s development. However, there was also a noticeable uptick in investment in AI, Cleantech, and Energy-focused startups, indicating a diversification of investor interest into new and emerging technology verticals across the continent.

Hidden Funding Layer Persists
Despite the disclosed figures, 13 of September’s 37 deals did not reveal funding amounts, representing 35% of transactions. This “invisible funding layer” likely consists of smaller tickets below $1m, particularly in strategic investments and early-stage rounds. The pattern suggests actual funding volumes may be substantially higher than reported figures indicate. Several strategic investments from notable players, including Mastercard’s minority investment in Nigerian identity verification company Smile ID and Yango Ventures’ backing of Kenyan fintech Zanifu, fell into the undisclosed category.

There is also enough evidence of South Africa’s closed loop — 11 South African investors (most of any country) but they primarily back local startups, creating a self-sustaining but isolated ecosystem.

Again, we noticed some sort of syndication premium during the month—that is, multi-investor deals don’t show higher average funding, suggesting syndication is about risk-sharing, not check size.

There is also an ongoing corporate validation wave sweeping across the ecosystem — Mastercard, Coinbase, Yango Ventures and Morgan Stanley entering signals that African fintech/identity infrastructure/mobility is reaching “institutional grade” status.

The Bottom Line
With performance in September pushing 2025 totals above last year’s benchmark, the African tech funding landscape appears to be stabilising after the sector-wide correction that began in 2022. The strong showing from European institutional investors, particularly development finance institutions, indicates sustained interest in African infrastructure and climate solutions.

The geographic concentration remains notable, with Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa accounting for 57% of deals and 65% of disclosed funding. However, the presence of funded startups across nine countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Côte d’Ivoire, suggests broadening ecosystem development beyond the traditional hubs.

Whether this momentum continues through the year’s final quarter will determine if 2025 marks a genuine recovery in African tech funding or simply matches the previous year’s performance. Early indicators suggest optimism, but the concentration of capital in specific sectors and geographies hint at the selective nature of current investor appetite.

You can download September’s funding data HERE.