African startups have successfully raised $2.65 billion in the first ten months of 2025, marking a substantial increase compared to the same period in 2024. Data from Africa the Big Deal reveals that startups on the continent secured $1.7 billion during the first ten months of the previous year, indicating a 56 percent growth in funding.
This year's funding total also surpasses the $2.6 billion raised in the first ten months of 2023. Excluding the exceptional funding booms of 2021 and 2022, which saw $3.3 billion and $4 billion respectively during the same period, 2025 has experienced the strongest funding performance since 2019 for its initial ten months.
Increased Number of High-Value Funding Rounds
The number of startups raising $1 million or more has also seen an impressive rise. Over the past ten months, 179 startups have secured funding in this bracket. This figure is notably higher than the 159 startups that achieved similar funding levels in the same period of 2024, representing a 12.6 percent increase.
While the number of startups raising $1 million or above in 2025 is nearly on par with the 178 startups that contributed to the ten-month total in 2023, it falls short of the 229 and 298 recorded in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
These figures suggest that funding into the African continent is moving towards a more stable equilibrium. Following a period of rapid growth and subsequent decline, the market appears to have found a midpoint, with the focus now shifting to sustaining this momentum.
Equity Funding Shows Strong Performance
The data indicates a solid resurgence in investment within African startups. Equity funding, in particular, has shown significant improvement. Of the $2.65 billion raised in the first ten months of 2025, $1.5 billion was secured through equity, accounting for 56.6 percent of the total and representing a 31 percent increase year-over-year.
Similarly, over the last twelve months, $1.9 billion of the total $3.2 billion raised came in the form of equity, making up nearly 60 percent of the total and showing a 38 percent rise compared to the previous year.
The year began with a strong showing for equity funding, with $262 million of the $289 million raised in January coming from equity, representing 90.6 percent of the total. By the midpoint of June, $950 million of the $1.4 billion raised had been equity funding, which constituted 68 percent of the total, with only 28.5 percent coming from debt financing.
However, the funding trend shifted in July, which remains the most funded month of 2025. In July, $493 million of the $550 million raised by African startups was in the form of debt financing, accounting for 89 percent of that month's sum. This brought the total debt financing rate for the year to 45 percent.
October emerged as the best-performing month for equity funding in 2025, with a total of $334 million raised. This represents an impressive 76 percent of the total funding for the month and may signal a gradual return of investor confidence, especially as the equity share of funding has remained stable across two months.
The trend saw a reversal in August and September, when 87 percent and 89 percent of their respective monthly sums came in the form of equity. Overall, 2025 has been a positive year for African startup funding, continuing the strong performance seen over the last twelve months.