Investors bet $1bn in Africa’s fintech companies

Fintechs solidified their attractiveness to investors in 2024, attracting over $1 billion in funding, according to Africa: The Big Deal.

The data insight firm that tracks funding of $100,000 and above noted that the sector’s share of total start-up funding increased to 47 percent from 42 percent in 2023, marking its highest proportion since 2021. African startups raised $2.2 billion across all sectors in 2024.

It noted that four fintech companies — Moniepoint, Tyme, MNT-Halan, and M-Kopa — featured among the year’s top ten fundraisers, signifying the sector’s robust growth.

The firm highlighted that while fintech’s ascent was not guaranteed at the start of the year, it recovered well in the second half, with deals such as Tyme which became a unicorn, pushing to the forefront.

Further breakdown of the report revealed that energy retained its position as the second most-funded sector, amassing $440 million, or 20 percent of the total funding. However, this represents a 42 percent year-on-year decline.

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It said, “Major contributors included to the energy sector include d.light ($192 million) and Sun King ($87 million), accounting for nearly two-thirds of the sector’s funding.”

The 42 percent drop in energy funding mirrored broader trends in climate tech investments, which fell to 32 percent of the total funding of 36 percent in 2023. While energy’s share of climate tech investments declined from 72 percent to 59 percent, non-energy climate tech funding held relatively steady at $289 million, just a 4 percent dip year-on-year.

Logistics and transportation emerged as a resilient sector, increasing its funding by 6 percent year-on-year to $288 million. The sector’s share of total funding rose from 9 percent in 2023 to 13 percent in 2024, with companies like Moove, Basigo, and Spiro leading the charge.

Outside the top three sectors, most industries experienced funding declines. AgriTech and Food saw a 44 percent drop, while Healthcare suffered an even steeper 61 percent fall.

Fintech, energy, and logistics accounted for 80 percent of total funding, reflecting investor confidence in high-growth sectors.