A Launch Base Africa analysis of over 150 funding announcements in 2025 reveals a cautious market, with investors favouring debt financing and later-stage companies, leaving a significant gap at the pre-seed and seed stages. However, for Africa’s seed-stage investors like the self-proclaimed contrarian VC firm P1 Ventures, 2025 is one of those moments when their contrarian funding theory is put to the test.

Key takeaways:

• Early-stage deals are in the minority. Publicly announced Pre-seed and Seed rounds combined account for less than 41% of the funding deals analyzed so far this year.
• Debt is on the rise. Investors are showing a clear preference for de-risked assets, with established companies in sectors like clean energy raising large, eight-figure debt facilities.
• “Undisclosed” rounds are common. A high number of deals with undisclosed amounts and stages suggest founders and investors are avoiding publicizing smaller rounds or lower valuations in a corrected market.
• Big cheques for deep tech and fintech. Despite the scarcity, standout companies in complex sectors like semiconductors, AI, and fintech infrastructure are still raising significant $10M+ seed rounds.

So far in 2025, the African tech ecosystem has seen a steady stream of funding announcements. From large debt facilities for clean energy companies to strategic investments in established fintechs, capital is flowing. However, a deeper analysis of the data reveals a concerning trend: a scarcity of traditional Pre-seed and Seed equity rounds. 

An analysis of over 150 startup funding announcements across the continent this year reveals that publicly disclosed pre-seed and seed deals are significantly outnumbered by other forms of financing. While this early-stage activity is vital, its volume is strikingly low when compared to the total number of transactions. The landscape is instead dominated by eight-figure debt facilities, strategic corporate investments, grants, and a large number of deals with undisclosed terms, suggesting a significant shift in the funding environment.

A Flight to Safety and Debt

The data points towards a clear investor preference for de-risked assets. Established companies in capital-intensive sectors like clean energy and logistics are successfully raising significant debt. This indicates a maturing market where proven businesses can leverage assets for non-dilutive growth capital.

For investors, this represents a flight to safety. In a cautious global market, providing debt to a company with predictable revenue is less risky than writing an equity cheque for an unproven idea.

“The venture model of the last decade is being recalibrated,” a Cape Town-based analyst with a top VC firm told Launch Base Africa. “Investors are no longer rewarding growth at all costs. They are writing fewer, but more convicted, cheques at the early stage and require a much clearer path to profitability before committing.”

This caution is also reflected in the high number of “undisclosed” rounds. Founders and funds may be opting against publicizing smaller round sizes or lower valuations to avoid negative signaling in a market that has moved on from the inflated figures of previous years.

The Outliers: Where Early-Stage Capital Flows 

Despite the scarcity, significant early-stage capital is still being deployed for standout companies. The top deals of the year show that investors are willing to pay a premium for strong teams tackling complex problems.

In a three-way tie for the year’s largest seed round at $10M, InfiniLink (Egypt) is developing semiconductor technology, KERA Health (Senegal) is applying AI to healthcare diagnostics, and Mansa (a multi-country fintech) is building a new payments platform. Another notable investment was South Africa-based Cerebrium’s $8.5M round, led by Google’s Gradient Ventures, to build serverless AI infrastructure.

At the pre-seed stage, Egyptian fintech Hamilton led the pack with a $1.7M round, followed by South African biotech firm Altera Biosciences with $1.6M. These investments, while smaller, are crucial for getting Africa’s most innovative ideas off the ground.

Who’s Writing the Cheques?

The Most Active VCs

By deal count, a handful of firms have shown a consistent commitment to Africa’s earliest founders.

• P1 Ventures (4 deals): This self-acclaimed contrarian VC is the most active investor in this dataset, with investments spanning developer tools and crypto payments.
• Y Combinator (3 deals): The global accelerator continues to be a key player, backing a neobank, an AI infrastructure company, and a developer tools startup.
• Plus VC (3 deals): This firm has been active in fintech and e-commerce enablement.

Other notable investors participating in at least two deals this year include Visa, Digital Africa, Renew Capital, Launch Africa Ventures, Atlantica Ventures, TLcom Capital, Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, 4DX Ventures, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), among others. 

Backing the Biggest Rounds

The year’s largest rounds were backed by a diverse group of high-conviction investors.

• InfiniLink’s $10M Seed: Backed by MediaTek, Sukna Ventures, Egypt Ventures, and M Empire Angels.
• KERA Health’s $10M Seed: Financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
• Mansa’s $10M Seed: Funded by a syndicate including Tether, Faculty Group, Octerra Capital, and others.
• PaidHR’s $1.8M Seed: Backed by Accion Venture Lab (USA), Zrosk (Nigeria), Chui Ventures (Kenya), Zedcrest Capital (Nigeria)
• Hamilton’s $1.7M Pre-seed: Led by DisrupTech Ventures, with participation from CMS, DeSpread, and others.

A Geographical Snapshot 

The continent’s largest pre-seed and seed rounds have been concentrated in a few key hubs.

• Egypt: The North African nation is a clear leader, securing the year’s top pre-seed deal (Hamilton, $1.7M) and sharing the top seed deal (InfiniLink, $10M). The country’s ecosystem also recorded several other significant seven-figure seed rounds.
• Senegal: The West African nation made a major mark with the $10M seed investment in AI-powered healthtech company KERA Health.
• South Africa: The country registered two of the largest early-stage deals, with AI infrastructure company Cerebrium securing an $8.5M seed round and biotech firm Altera Biosciences raising a $1.6M pre-seed.