African startups hit $1 billion in funding for 2025

African startups have started 2025 strong, collectively raising $1 billion from January to May. This marks a 40% increase compared to the same period last year.

The year kicked off with $289 million in January. However, funding dipped to $119 million in February and hit a low of $50 million in March. April saw a healthy rebound to $343 million, suggesting renewed investor interest. May then slowed again, with $254 million raised across 39 deals. Even with these ups and downs, reaching the billion-dollar mark in five months is a positive sign for the African tech scene.

Looking at the past year, African startups have secured over $2.5 billion between June 2024 and June 2025. This is the highest 12-month total since early 2024.

Egypt has emerged as the top destination for startup capital in 2025, attracting $330 million, or 31% of all disclosed funding. The country closed over 16 deals, with 11 public investments, boosting its funding by 130% compared to the same period in 2024.

Most major deals in May 2025 came from Egypt. Six of the seven startups that raised over $10 million that month were Egyptian. Nawy, an Egyptian proptech startup, secured the highest funding at $75 million, including a $52 million Series A round and $23 million in debt financing.

Other significant Egyptian deals included MNT-Halan’s $50 million, Valu’s $27 million (from Saudi Arabian investors), fintech startup Thndr’s $15.7 million, mobility firm Slyndr’s $15 million, and MoneyFellow’s $13 million pre-Series C round.

A South African health-tech company, AURA, also made headlines with a $15 million Series B round. This was co-led by Partech and the Cairo Angels Innovation Fund (CAIF).

While Egypt led, the other “Big Four” African markets maintained their top positions. South Africa accounted for 26% of total funding, Nigeria 15%, and Kenya 12%. Kenya, which had led earlier in the year, has seen fewer major deals recently.

Despite reaching the $1 billion milestone, the monthly funding changes show cautious optimism among investors. Still, with Egypt’s strong performance and a solid 12-month total, there’s growing hope that African startup funding is stabilizing.