African tech companies secured $184.7m in disclosed funding in April, marking a sharp month-on-month recovery driven by a pronounced shift toward debt and securitisation rather than traditional venture equity.

While the figure is a significant improvement from the dismal $67.25m raised in March, it remains approximately 30 per cent lower than the $263m recorded in April 2025. The data underscores a maturing but cautious market where dealmaking is highly concentrated; just six transactions accounted for more than 75 per cent of the month’s total capital.

In a notable shift for the continent’s venture ecosystem, non-equity instruments — including securitisations, venture debt, and concessional loans — accounted for over a third of the total at $66m. Analysts note that founders are increasingly turning to alternative structures to fund operations without diluting equity in a depressed valuation environment, while development finance institutions (DFIs) are stepping in to provide crucial credit enhancements.

The single largest transaction of the month was an EGP 2.21bn ($41.3m) securitisation bond issued by Hala Consumer Finance, the lending arm of Egyptian fintech platform MNT-Halan. The bond provides the group with immediate liquidity to underwrite new consumer loans. In West Africa, mobility and logistics group Gozem secured a €21m ($24.5m) debt package from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to scale its vehicle financing programme for professional drivers.

Geographically, Egypt led the continent with $66m in raised capital, anchored heavily by the Hala securitisation and a $23m Series B for consumer credit start-up Lucky. Kenya followed with $45.7m.

Sectorally, the energy transition emerged as a primary magnet for foreign capital, trailing only fintech. Kenya-based CrossBoundary Energy, which develops hybrid solar and battery projects for commercial clients, secured a $40m commitment from South African fund manager Inspired Evolution. Meanwhile, Ethiopian electric mobility startup Dodai raised $13m in equity and debt from British International Investment and a consortium of Japanese investors, signalling confidence in the country’s nascent e-mobility sector.

The April data also highlighted a broadening geographic base of international investors. Venture capital groups from Japan, Sweden, and France closed deals alongside traditional US and pan-African funds, indicating that international capital continues to fan out across frontier markets despite broader macroeconomic headwinds. 

In all, foreign investors accounted for 75% of all identifiable venture capital participations in African startup funding rounds, while local investors made up just 25%. The pronounced imbalance underscores the continent’s enduring dependence on international capital and highlights the still-limited depth of domestic institutional investment, despite a growing number of local funds and angel networks entering early-stage deals.

Despite the month’s recovery, the three-month rolling average for African venture funding remains at roughly half the peaks seen in 2022. However, the growing depth of local credit markets and the active deployment of quasi-equity structures suggest a strengthening of the ecosystem’s underlying financial infrastructure, setting the stage for more sustainable capital deployment in the coming quarters.