The first half of 2025 showcased the resilience and dynamic growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem, with a diverse group of investors backing the continent’s most promising startups. This analysis by Launch Base Africa identifies the key players driving this momentum, ranking them by investment volume and highlighting the strategic trends they represent. Leading the pack by deal count is Digital Africa, setting the pace in a landscape where fintech remains dominant but is increasingly sharing the spotlight with sectors like e-commerce, cleantech, and AI.

1. Digital Africa With a total of at least 6 known investments in H1, Digital Africa stands out as the most prolific investor by deal volume. The firm was particularly active in Q1 through its Fuzé program, backing a diverse range of early-stage, youth-led startups across various sectors including music-tech (Muzikin), agritech (E-pineA), insurtech (COVA), and construction tech (Anchor Machines). It also invested in Morocco’s Toum AI, Algeria’s AI-powered inзightз, digital tools for farm, Amaya Ag, among others. In Q2, it continued its activity by investing in the Ghanaian fintech Liquify.

2. Flourish Ventures & Renew Capital: Both firms made at least 5 investments each in the first half of the year.

• Flourish Ventures: Focused heavily on fintech and digital infrastructure. In Q1, it backed four companies: payment orchestrator MoneyHash and, via its Madica fund, Medikea (healthtech), Motherbeing (healthtech), and Pixii Motors (clean mobility). In Q2, it participated in the $55 million round for the South African open-banking startup Stitch.
• Renew Capital: Maintained its strategy of investing in frontier markets. In Q1, it made three investments in fintech and e-commerce startups Sevi (Kenya), Dabchy (Tunisia), and NjiaPay (South Africa). In Q2, it added two more deals, backing reselling platform Tendo (Ghana) and interactive media startup Beemi (Ethiopia).

3. Visa, P1 Ventures & Norrsken22: These three investors were highly active with at least 4 investments each, showcasing significant commitment to the African market.

• Visa: Remained a dominant corporate investor in fintech. In Q1, it backed Nigerian digital bank Moniepoint and Ghanaian SME platform Oze. In Q2, its activity continued through its Africa Fintech Accelerator program, with investments in Konnect (Tunisia) and PayTic (Morocco).
• P1 Ventures: Focused on fintech and developer tools. Its Q1 investments included cross-border payment firm Raenest (Nigeria) and DevOps platform Stakpak (Egypt). In Q2, it backed authentication startup Better Auth (Ethiopia) and DevOps company Salus Cloud (Africa-wide).
• Norrsken22: Made significant growth-stage investments. In Q1, it backed social commerce platform Taager (Egypt), fintech Raenest (Nigeria), and e-commerce startup Kapu (Kenya). It continued its momentum in Q2 by participating in the major funding round for Stitch (South Africa).

4. Investors with at least 3 Deals Each A strong cohort of investors closed at least three deals in H1 2025, signaling broad and consistent activity across different regions and sectors.

• Norfund: Focused its capital on cleantech and commerce infrastructure, with all three investments made in Q2: Arnergy (Nigeria), Wave (Senegal), and OmniRetail.
• DisrupTech Ventures: Remained a key player in Egypt’s ecosystem with three Q1 investments in Hamilton (DeFi), Khazna (fintech), and WideBot (AI).
• Raed Ventures: This Saudi-based firm invested in Taager and Grinta in Q1, followed by a Q2 investment in the quick-commerce startup Rabbit, showing strong interest in Egypt.
• Beltone Venture Capital: Also focused on North Africa, investing in Grinta (Egypt) and LNKO (Morocco) in Q1, and Rabbit (Egypt) in Q2.
• Firstminute Capital: Showed interest in both fintech and e-commerce, backing Capi Money and Kapu in Q1, and participating in the Stitch deal in Q2.

Key Patterns Common to the Top Investors

1. Fintech Remains King, But Other Sectors are Gaining Serious Ground

While Financial Technology (Fintech) continues to attract the highest volume of deals, there is a clear and significant diversification of investment into other critical sectors.

• Fintech Dominance: The most active investors like Visa, Flourish Ventures, and P1 Ventures have strong fintech portfolios. Deals for startups in payments (Raenest, Capi Money), digital banking (Moniepoint, LemFi), open banking (Stitch), and SME financial tools (Oze, Khazna) were prominent throughout the first half of the year.
• Rise of Commerce and Logistics: E-commerce, social commerce, and logistics infrastructure are major areas of focus. Investors like Norrsken22, Raed Ventures, and Norfund backed companies like Taager (social commerce), Kapu (mass-market e-commerce), Rabbit (quick commerce), and OmniRetail (B2B retail).
• Growing Appetite for Cleantech and Climate Tech: There is a noticeable increase in capital flowing into sustainability. Norfund’s investment in Arnergy (solar), Vumela Fund’s debt for Everlectric (EV leasing), and the funding for Burn Manufacturing (clean cooking) highlight a trend toward climate-focused solutions.
• Deep Tech and AI is Emerging: Investments in AI-powered chatbots (WideBot), DevOps platforms (Salus Cloud, Stakpak), and AI-driven credit risk (Trade Shield) show a budding interest in more specialized, deep-tech solutions beyond consumer apps.

2. Geographic Focus: The “Big Three” Lead, with North Africa Surging

Investment activity remains concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, but Egypt has solidified its position as a top-tier hub, attracting significant regional and international capital.

• Egypt as a Hub: The country saw a high volume of deals from both local champions (DisrupTech Ventures) and international firms (Raed Ventures, Beltone VC, Norrsken22). Startups like Taager, MoneyHash, Khazna, and Rabbit attracted substantial funding.
• West African Powerhouses: Nigeria and Ghana continue to be key markets. Nigeria attracted large rounds for companies like Raenest and LemFi, while Ghana showed strength in fintech (Oze, ZeePay) and clean energy (Kopa).
• Broadening Horizons: The most prolific investors are looking beyond the traditional hubs. Renew Capital’s portfolio includes deals in Tunisia and Ghana, while Digital Africa invested across Cameroon and Uganda, indicating a widening geographic scope for early-stage capital.

3. A Multi-Layered and Collaborative Investor Ecosystem

The data reveals a healthy ecosystem with different types of investors focusing on various stages, and they are increasingly working together.

• Syndication is the Norm: It is rare to see a major deal with only one investor. The most significant rounds involved multiple top-tier firms co-investing. For example:

i) Taager was backed by Norrsken22, Endeavor Catalyst, and Raed Ventures.
ii) Stitch’s round included Flourish Ventures, Norrsken22, and Firstminute Capital.
iii) Oze received funding from both DEG (a DFI) and Visa (a corporate). This collaboration allows investors to share risk, pool expertise, and write larger checks.

• Diverse Investor Types: The landscape is populated by a mix of players:
• Pan-African VCs: Norrsken22, P1 Ventures, Flourish Ventures.
• Local Champions: DisrupTech Ventures (Egypt), Vumela Fund (South Africa).
• Corporate VCs (CVCs): Visa and PayPal Ventures are strategically investing to support their core businesses.
• Development Finance Institutions (DFIs): Norfund, BII, and DEG are providing crucial, often larger-scale, patient capital, particularly in infrastructure and cleantech.

4. Strong Inflow of International Capital, Especially from Europe and the Gulf

While the African VC scene is maturing, it is significantly bolstered by international capital, which signals strong global confidence in the continent’s tech future.

• European VCs are Very Active: Firms like Norfund (Norway), Speedinvest (Europe), DEG (Germany), BII (UK), and Norrsken22 (Sweden) are among the most frequent investors.

• Gulf Capital Targeting North Africa: There is a clear trend of Saudi-based firms like Raed Ventures and Egyptian VCs with Gulf backing deploying significant funds into Egypt and the wider MENA region. This cross-regional investment flow is a powerful driver for North African startups.

Did you know that most of the investment this year comes from the investors listed HERE?