African startups raised $150.50 million in March 2026 across 27 disclosed funding deals, but the market remained heavily concentrated at the top.

Analysis of the data shows that the top 10 startups alone attracted $143.9 million, accounting for a significant 95.61% of all disclosed funding in the month, even as five startups chose not to disclose their funding amounts.

The remaining 17 startups shared just $6.6 million, and this highlights a familiar trend in Africa’s startup ecosystem as fewer deals are commanding a disproportionate share of capital, while early-stage and smaller plays continue to scramble for oxygen.

On a month-on-month basis, March’s fundings declined from February 2026, when African startups raised $335.4 million across 47 deals, with the top 10 alone contributing $309.2 million (92.19% to total funds raised).

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While February recorded more than double March’s funding volume, the dominance of the top 10 intensified in March, signaling that investors are becoming even more selective, concentrating capital in startups with proven traction, clear revenue lines, or strategic relevance.

The fintech sector continued to show dominance as it raised a total of $60.3 million across 7 startups, contributing 40.07% to the total funding, while the Waste Management sector followed closely with $53 million across 1 deal (35.22% to total).

The Energy & Water sector experienced intense investor interest as it raised $26.5 million, as the other sectors contributed a total of $10.7 million to the funding in the month under review.

Top 10 African startups in March 2026 

1Karm (Karmsolar) (Egypt) – $1.3 million

Closing the top 10 list, Karm Holding, has secured Shariah-Compliant financing worth EGP 70 million ($1.3 million) from Banque Misr to support the expansion of the Cairo 3A off-grid solar project.

  • Sector: Energy & Water
  • Region: Northern Africa
  • Funding type: Debt
  • Investor: Banque Misr

This funding brings the total financing obtained from Banque Misr for the project to EGP 154 million, approximately $2.94 million

Turaco (Kenya) – $1.3million

Although smaller in size, Turaco’s raise of $1.3 million revealed that health tech funding remains noticeable, particularly for startups addressing affordability and access.

  • Sector: Healthcare
  • Region: Eastern Africa
  • Funding type: Venture Round
  • Investors: Undisclosed

NjiaPay(South Africa) – $2.1 million 

NjiaPay, a South African payment management and routing startup, has raised $2.1 million in seed funding to grow its business and expand to more African markets. This follows a $1 million raise in January 2025.

The round was led by European investor Newion, known for backing business software companies.

  • Sector: Fintech
  • Region: Southern Africa
  • Funding type: Seed
  • Investors: Newion

NjiaPay’s latest seed funding round reflects a broader investor shift toward infrastructure-level solutions, further strengthening the country’s reputation as a fintech experimentation hub.

Orca Fraud (South Africa) – $2.4 million

Orca, a South African fintech startup developing fraud prevention software for emerging markets, has raised a $2.35 million (approximately R40 million) in an oversubscribed seed funding round to scale its real-time fraud detection platform across Africa and other emerging markets.

The round was led by Pan-African venture capital firm Norrsken22, which previously anchored the company’s $550,000 pre-seed round in early 2024. Other participants include One Day Yes, Enza Capital, and CV VC Africa.

  • Sector: Fintech
  • Region: Southern Africa
  • Funding type: Seed
  • Investors: Norrsken22, One Day Yes, Enza Capital, CV VC Africa

The fundraise is notable as one of the largest seed rounds secured by an all-female founding team on the African continent.

Cybervergent (Nigeria) – $3 million 

Lagos-based cybersecurity firm Cybervergent has raised a $3 million seed round to scale its AI-native posture management and governance orchestration platform.

The round was co-led by emerging market-focused venture firms Ventures Platform and Atlantica Ventures, both Nigerian-owned.

  • Sector: Deeptech
  • Region: Western Africa
  • Funding type: Seed
  • Investors: Ventures Platform, Atlantica Ventures

Cybervergent’s raise shows growing interest in deeptech and cybersecurity-focused solutions within West Africa.

Happy Pay (South Africa) – $5 million

South African startup Happy Pay has closed a $5 million seed round to scale its ad-subsidised payments network, a model that removes interest and fees from consumer finance entirely.

Happy Pay, which already has more than 600,000 registered users, raised $5 million in a round led by global technology investor Partech.

It also saw participation from Futuregrowth Asset Management, 4Di Capital, E4E Africa, Equitable Ventures, and Felix Strategic Investments.

  • Sector: Fintech
  • Region: Southern Africa
  • Funding type: Seed
  • Investors: Partech Africa, Futuregrowth Asset Management, 4Di Capital, E4E, Equitable Ventures, Felix Strategic Investment

Happy Pay’s seed round highlights sustained investor appetite for early-stage fintech innovation, even amid tightening funding conditions.

littlefish (South Africa) – $9.5 million 

littlefish, the South African startup building financial infrastructure for small businesses, has raised a $9.5 million Series A round to scale its merchant operating system and expand across Africa.

Global tech investment firm Partech led the round with participation from Proparco and returning backers such as TLcom Capital and Flourish Ventures.

  • Sector: Fintech
  • Region: Southern Africa
  • Funding type: Series A
  • Investors: Partech Africa, Proparco, TLcom Capital, Flourish Ventures

littlefish’s rase places South Africa firmly in the fintech dominator for the month, as investors double down on financial inclusion and SME-focused solutions.

Zeno (Kenya) – $25 million

Nairobi-based e-mobility player Zeno closed a $25 million Series A round to scale its vertically integrated electric motorcycle and battery-swapping network across East Africa.

The round, a mix of equity and debt, was led by California-based Congruent Ventures, with participation from Active Impact and Lowercarbon Capital.

Debt facilities were provided by Trifecta Capital and Camber Road, providing the capital-intensive startup with the firepower to expand its fleet and infrastructure.

  • Sector: Energy & Water
  • Region: Eastern Africa
  • Funding type: Series A
  • Investors:
  • Congruent Ventures, Active Impact Investments, Lowercarbon Capital, Trifecta Capital, Camber Road

Zeno’s $25 million Series A round shows that clean energy and water infrastructure continue to attract long-term capital, particularly in markets grappling with energy access and climate volatility.

MNT-Halan (Egypt) – $41.3 million

Hala Consumer Finance, the consumer lending arm of Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan, has completed a 2.214 billion Egyptian pound ($41.3 million) securitization bond issuance.

MNT-Halan stood in the second place among the top 10 African startups in March 2026, reinforcing Egypt’s position as North Africa’s fintech titan. The use of structured debt instruments also highlights maturing capital markets and diversified funding approaches beyond traditional equity.

  • Sector: Fintech
  • Region: Northern Africa
  • Funding type: Bonds
  • Investors: Undisclosed

The latest issuance marks the fifth tranche within Capital Securitization’s seventh programme, which targets a total value of approximately EGP 11.5 billion ($214.8 million).

Sistema.bio(Kenya) – $53 million  

Sistema.bio, a global leader in biogas technology and climate solutions for smallholder farmers, emerged as the biggest African fundraiser of the month, securing $53 million in debt financing to launch FarmCarbon, an innovative funding vehicle aimed at expanding climate finance for smallholder farmers and accelerating methane mitigation.

The funding led by BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts (BNPP AM Alts),  the alternative investments platform of BNP Paribas Asset Management, British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, and Shell Foundation, an independent charity supporting underserved communities in Africa and Asia to increase incomes while reducing emissions.

The funding will be deployed across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with Africa as a key market.

  • Sector: Waste Management
  • Region: Eastern Africa
  • Funding type: Debt
  • Investors: BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts (BNPP AM Alts), British International Investment (ex-CDC), Shell Foundation

The deal underscores growing investor confidence in climate‑focused infrastructure plays, especially those offering scalable solutions in waste-to-energy and sustainable agriculture.

Regional funding breakdown 

Eastern Africa emerged as the most funded region in March, raising $80.2 million, equivalent to 53.29% of total funding, driven largely by Sistema.bio and Zeno.

Northern Africa followed with $45.4 million, contributing 30.17% to total funding, supported by the $41.3 million deal from MNT-Halan.

Other regions followed at a distance:

  • Southern Africa: $20.9 million (13.89%)
  • Western Africa: $4 million (2.66%)

Pan-African deals were recorded, but funding amounts were undisclosed.

At the country level, funding concentration was equally pronounced, as Kenya retains top spot with $79.3 million (52.69%).

  • Egypt: $43.3 million (28.77%)
  • South Africa: $19 .7million (13.09%)
  • Nigeria: $3.3 million (2.19%)
  • Morocco: $2.1 million (1.40%)
  • Angola: $1.2 million (0.88%)

Kenya’s dominance was driven almost entirely by Sistema.bio debt fund, while Egypt stood out for a large ticket raise in fintech. South Africa recorded the highest deal count of 9 startups, especially within fintech.