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
Except for Tunisia entering the Top 10 at Libya’s expense, and Morocco moving up to sixth ahead of A...
African startup M&A hits record 67 deals in 2025 Consolidation driven by funding pressures and ex...
Moniepoint, Opay, Kuda, and others gain national status with tighter oversight A naira 5 billion ...
Touted as a tool of emancipation, blockchain was meant to give the Central African Republic a new fo...
CBE introduced CBE Connect in partnership with fintech StarPay. The platform enables cross-border...
Nigeria issues 501bn naira bond to clear power sector arrears Institutional investors fully subscribed to inaugural PPSDRP offering Programme aims to...
DR Congo, UAE sign CEPA aiming to double trade to $10bn Deal opens UAE market to 6,000 Congolese products Agreements cover ports, mining...
Blaise Diagne airport passenger traffic rose 0.46% to 2.94m in 2025 Growth led by Europe/North Africa routes; transit passengers fell...
UNDP, Africell partner to boost UniPods connectivity in Sierra Leone, Gambia Africell to supply high-speed internet, 4G MiFi and IoT...
Fela Kuti received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy He is the first African artist recognized by the Grammys...
Manovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park is one of the largest protected areas in Central Africa. Located in the northeastern part of the Central African...