Nigerian startups collectively managed to raise $967.2 million in 2022, attributing to 27.4 percent of the total $3.6 billion venture capital raised by African startups. Nigeria became the largest recipient of startup funding on the continent, followed by Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.
Startups that led the funding race include Flutterwave, Moove, TeamApt, Interswitch and Ventures Platform. These startups are involved in the finance industry, offering innovative solutions to improve Nigeria’s financial system.
Fintech unicorn Flutterwave raised more than $250 million in Series D funding last February, pushing its valuation to $3 billion. American private equity company B Capital Group led the funding round with the participation of other institutional investors, including Whake Rock Capital and Lux Capital.
Mobility fintech Moove obtained $105 million in a Series A2 round that consisted of equity and debt. Past investors like Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital participated in the latest capital raising along with new collaborators.
TeamApt, a business payment platform, earned over $50 million pre-Series C round last March. QED Investors and TeamApt’s existing investor, Novastar Ventures, led the latest funding round. TeamApt also managed to attract funding from Lightrock and Bil.
Interswitch, which serves integrated payment for Nigerians, gathered $110 million from investors in May. At that time, Interswitch’s existing investors — Helios and Visa among others — sold down 15 percent of their total holdings in the company to Leapfrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital. The South African-based Leapfrog said the selldown was not done because of investors’ loss of confidence in the startup and instead to expand its investor base.
Ventures Platform surpassed its initial funding target of $40 million by raising $46 million. The venture capitalist, which focuses on funding African tech companies, attracted global investors like Allianz and British International Investment.
The government’s support of Nigerian startups makes it easier for these entities to receive funding. Last October, the government passed the Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB), which provides tax breaks for startups and employees. Nigerian Exchange can also now list startups to raise capital.
