Between January and September this year, West African tech companies raised $1.34 billion in investment.
According to the analysis platform Baobab Insights, the resources were raised through 105 financing deals, with fintech companies leading the way with 35 deals. Nigeria captured the largest share of investments. As of September 21, 2021, Baobab Insights reports, nearly $729.1 million was injected into Nigerian financial services companies; 68% of the total fundraising deals done in fintech in the sub-region were also done in Nigeria.
Since 2018, the fintech industry has attracted the most funding compared to other industries. This year, two West African fintech companies entered the small circle of African unicorns. These are the Nigerian payment company Opay, which reached a valuation of $2 billion following a $400 million financing round, and the Senegalese payment company Wave, which reached a valuation of $1.7 billion following a $200 million Series A round. Wave became the first unicorn in Francophone Africa. Transport and logistics companies rank second in terms of completed transactions.
Overall, West African startups perform well in terms of funds mobilization. In Q1 2021, they raised $231.7 million, sharply up from the $62.2 million raised in Q4 2020.
Chamberline Moko
(EBID) - EBID aims to allocate nearly 41% of its commitments to projects with environmental and...
Mahindra & Mahindra is considering a CKD assembly plant near Durban to strengthen its presence i...
Four major operators—Mauritel, Mattel, Rimatel, and Chinguitel—submitted a combined bid of ...
AFC disbursed €43 million for Côte d’Ivoire solar project Financing supports 66 MW pla...
Operators review 2025 investments, outline 2026 expansion plans Consumer complaints persist...
Global battery storage capacity rose 40% year-on-year to 108 GW in 2025. Installed capacity expanded more than elevenfold compared with 2021...
Botswana and Zimbabwe to sign seven agreements covering trade, SMEs, tourism and environmental cooperation Leaders meet in Harare under Bi-National...
Kenya and Italy signed a 2026–2029 action plan to expand cooperation across political, economic, and technological sectors. Bilateral trade rose...
Senegal and Sierra Leone signed a bilateral treaty in mining and energy on April 20 in Dakar. The agreement focuses on resource exploration, energy...
The Virunga Gorilla Marathon is a relatively recent initiative held in the Virunga region, a volcanic mountain range straddling the borders of the...
Lomé is hosting the 9th edition of the International Film Festival of Togo (FIFTO) featuring 33 films. The event promotes African storytelling in...