Nigerian fintech Waza has significantly impacted the continent’s startup funding landscape, securing $8 million in August and capturing a 14% share of the $56 million total raised by African startups for the month.
This information comes from the latest report by research firm ‘Africa: The Big Deal’, which monitors fundraising activities across Africa.
Waza, a B2B payment and liquidity provider backed by Y Combinator, received $3 million in seed equity and $5 million in debt funding.
This deal ranks among the top three largest funding rounds in Africa for August, alongside Dutch DFI FMO’s $10 million investment in Ghanaian fintech Fido and Solarise Africa’s $9 million raise.
The August funding total of $56 million marks a dramatic 87% decline from July’s record $443 million in startup funding.
According to ‘Africa: The Big Deal,’ August 2024 saw the second-lowest funding levels in four years, following June 2024, when startups raised $42 million.
The total funding for August was $56 million, with 87% of this amount coming from equity, 9% from debt, and 4% from grants.
The report also reveals that 27 startups announced funding in August, significantly below the monthly average of over 40 startups over the past year. Notably, there were no exits recorded during the month.
Nigeria, once the leading destination for startup funding in Africa, lost its top position to Kenya in 2023.
Kenyan startups attracted approximately $800 million, the highest on the continent, while Nigerian startups secured $410 million.
In the first half of 2024, African startups raised a total of $780 million.
Kenyan startups led the funding with $244 million, accounting for 32% of the total, while Nigeria received about $172 million.
Egypt and South Africa followed with $101 million and $85 million, respectively.
