African startup funding: Nigeria takes 83.7% as top 10 deals raise $428 million in August

 African startups recorded a sharp improvement in disclosed funding in August 2026, with the continent’s top 10 deals accounting for almost all the capital raised during the month. 

Nairametrics Research analysis of The Big Deal data showed that the top 10 African startups raised a combined $428 million in August 2026, representing 98.35% of the $435.2 million raised by 32 startups during the month, with 2 undisclosed amounts in the review period. 

The concentration of funding was particularly strong in Nigeria, which emerged as the dominant funding destination, attracting $364.1 million, or 83.66% of the continent’s disclosed startup funding, across 20 deals. 

Notably, Egypt-based fintech Tanweely was involved in a $95 million M&A transaction by e-Finance, which is excluded from the $435.2 million funding total because the transaction does not represent fresh capital flowing into the startup ecosystem.  

What the data is saying 

August’s performance delivers triple-digit growth on both the year-on-year and month-on-month analysis. 

• Compared with July, total funding in August increased by $333 million to $435.2 million, representing a 325.8% month-on-month increase, from the $102.2 million raised in July 2026, excluding undisclosed M&A transactions. 

• Deal volume declined from 47 deals in July to 32 deals in August, yet capital deployment surged significantly due to the presence of multiple mega-rounds. 

• Similarly, the concentration of funding increased. The top 10 startups in July raised $88.85 million, representing 86.94% of total funding. In August, the figure climbed to $428 million. 

• When compared with August 2025, the month delivered a remarkable surge in startup funding as African startups raised $435.2 million in August 2026 compared with $111.3 million in August 2025, excluding the previous year’s $94.8 million M&A transactions. This represents a 291% year-on-year increase in funding value. 

• Interestingly, deal volume moved in the opposite direction. August 2025 recorded 44 startup deals, with six undisclosed funding amounts, compared with 32 deals in August 2026. 

• The concentration of funding also intensified. In August 2025, the top 10 startups raised $84.8 million, accounting for 76.19% of total funding. By August 2026, the top 10 startups controlled 98.35% of all funding raised. 

Top 10 African startups by funding in August 2026  

10. Wilzy (Egypt) — $2 million

Wilzy, a digital wealth management, received EGP 100 million (approximately $2 million) investment from eFinance Group.  

Wilzy was born out of Act Financial’s rebrand of Act Holding last year, turning the subsidiary into a digital investment platform aimed at retail investors. 

• Sector: Fintech 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Venture Round 

• Investors: eFinance Group 

9. ThriveAgric (Nigeria) — $3.9 million

ThriveAgric raised N5.3 billion (approximately $3.9 million) debt funding through its first commercial paper issuance, making its first entry into Nigeria’s debt capital markets to finance commodity purchases and agricultural trading in Nigeria. 

The proceeds will fund purchases from smallholder farmers for supply to established buyers. ThriveAgric chose debt because its faster trading cash cycle suits short-term capital. 

• Sector: Agriculture & Food 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Debt 
• Investors: Anchoria Advisory Services Limited, Others 

      8. Jem HR (South Africa) — $8.4 million

South African startup Jem HR, a WhatsApp-based HR and employee benefits platform used by over 200 companies and 250,000 frontline workers, has raised a $8.4 million Series A funding round to support its expansion into a workforce management platform. 

Jem, which raised a US43.3 million pre-Series A round last year, now plans further product expansion after raising a $8.4 million Series A round, led by Quona Capital, which will support its expansion into a workforce management platform with new products such as time-and-attendance, credit scores and EAP already in place.  

• Sector: Education & Job 

• Region: Southern Africa 
• Fund Type: Series A 
• Investors: Quona Capital, University Technology Fund, E4E, NEXT176, Futuregrowth Asset Management, Angel Investors 

• 7. SWVL (Egypt) — $13 million

The Nasdaq-listed group, which began life in Cairo as a bus-booking app before reinventing itself as an enterprise software provider, raised a $13 million private placement led by Coefficient LP, a Houston-based investment firm backed by the Sawiris family, one of Egypt’s most prominent business dynasties.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Coefficient will invest $10 million and become SWVL’s largest institutional shareholder, with a further $3 million coming from an existing investor increasing its stake.   

• Sector: Logistics & Transport 

• Region: Northern Africa 

• Fund Type: Venture Round 

• Investors: Coefficient LP, Angel Investors 

6. Terra Industries (Nigeria) — $18 million

Nigeria’s Terra Industries has raised another $18 million, bringing its seed financing to $52 million as the defense technology startup expands manufacturing in Africa and opens offices abroad. Existing investors: 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel joined the round, along with Norleo Space Investments. 

Terra makes autonomous systems for governments, militaries, and operators of infrastructure. Its products include the Archer VTOL drone, the Iroko quadcopter, the Kallon sentry tower, and the Kama interceptor drone. 

• Sector: Deeptech 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Venture Round 

• Investors: 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital, SV Angel, Norleo Space Investments 

5. ValU (Egypt) — $20.7 million

Valu, the leading universal financial technology powerhouse in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), completed its first-ever corporate bond issuance, with a total value of EGP 1 billion (approximately $20.7 million). The transaction represents the first issuance under Valu’s EGP 10 billion corporate bond program and marks a significant milestone in the company’s funding strategy and continued growth. 

EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company, and the leading investment bank in MENA, acted as the sole financial advisor, sole transaction manager, bookrunner, underwriter, and arranger on the transaction. 

• Sector: Fintech 

• Region: Northern Africa 

• Fund Type: Bonds 

• Investors: EFG Hermes 

4. Moment (South Africa) — $22 million

Moment, a pan-African payments startup that processes 600,000 transactions every day, has closed a $22 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to $55 million since it launched three years ago. 

The fintech, which supplies payment infrastructure to some of Africa’s largest businesses, closed the round with AlphaCode Venture Partners as the lead investor.  

It also secured continued backing from existing investors, General Catalyst and MultiChoice, alongside new investment from Canal+, the French media giant that completed its acquisition of MultiChoice last year. 

• Sector: Fintech 

• Region: Southern Africa 

• Fund Type: Series A 

• Investors: AlphaCode Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Multichoice, Canal+ 

3. Yellow Card (Nigeria) — $40 million  

Yellow Card, a leading global stablecoin infrastructure provider successfully closed a $40 million strategic funding round, with investment from SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, and additional strategic investors. 

The funding will scale Global USD Accounts, Yellow Card’s end-to-end dollar account for businesses, and expand the stablecoin rails connecting it to markets worldwide. This brings Yellow Card’s total financing to over $120 million in equity financing. 

• Sector: Fintech 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Venture Round 

• Investors: SC Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Angel Investors 

2. Jumia (Nigeria) — $50 million

Jumia Technologies AG secured $50 million in fresh equity funding from its biggest shareholder and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. as the African e-commerce company pushes toward its first profit. 

The IFC led the capital injection with about $25 million, while top shareholder Axian Telecom, and others also took part in the funding round. 

• Sector: Retail 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Venture Round 

• Investors: IFC, Axian Telecom, Others 

1. Moove (Nigeria) — $250 million

Moove, the global mobility company building the operating layer for autonomous mobility, today announced it has raised $250 million at a $2.1 billion valuation in a Series C funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific. 

The funding will support the expansion of Moove’s autonomous vehicle business, including autonomous fleet ownership and robotics-first depot infrastructure “Nests”, where autonomous fleets are charged, serviced, maintained and orchestrated for continuous operation. The funds will also be used to support new market launches globally. 

• Sector: Logistics & Transport 

• Region: Western Africa 

• Fund Type: Series C 

• Investors: Mubadala Investment Company, Woven Capital, Ion Pacific 

More Insight 

Nigeria maintained its position as Africa’s leading startup investment destination, attracting $364.1 million, equivalent to 83.7% of total funding recorded across the continent. 

The country’s dominance was largely driven by Moove’s landmark raise, alongside major deals involving Jumia, Yellow Card, Terra Industries and ThriveAgric. 

With $364.1 million in disclosed funding spread across 20 deals, Nigeria alone attracted almost four times the combined funding secured by all other African markets during the month. 

• The figure was significantly ahead of Egypt, which attracted $36.2 million across four deals, representing 8.32% of the total. 

• South Africa followed with $31.6million across four deals, accounting for 7.26%, while Côte d’Ivoire attracted $1.5 million across two deals, or 0.34%. 

• Kenya accounted for $1 million, representing 0.23%, while Uganda recorded $800,000, or 0.18%. 

The country breakdown shows how heavily Africa’s August startup funding was concentrated in a handful of markets, with Nigeria alone accounting for substantially more funding than the rest of the continent combined. 

At the regional level, Western Africa led August’s funding activity, attracting $365.6 million across 21 deals, or 84.01% of the $435.2 million disclosed funding pool. 

Nigeria was the main reason for the region’s dominance, with its $364.1 million accounting for most of Western Africa’s funding. 

• Northern Africa followed with $36.2 million from four deals, representing 8.32%, while Southern Africa attracted $31.6 million from four deals, or 7.26%. 

• Eastern Africa recorded $1.8 million across three deals, accounting for 0.40%. 

The sector breakdown revealed where investors’ appetite was concentrated. 

Although fintech recorded the highest number of prominent deals in several African funding cycles, August’s funding picture was heavily influenced by logistics and transportation.  

• The Logistics & Transport sector attracted $263 million from two deals, representing a significant 60.43% of total funding. That figure was largely driven by Moove’s $250 million Series C transaction. 

• Fintech attracted $87.7 million across eight deals, accounting for 20.15% of total disclosed funding. 

• Retail followed with $51 million across two deals, representing 11.72%, while deeptech attracted $19.5 million across three deals, or 4.48%. 

• Education & Jobs attracted $9.6 million across 12 deals, equivalent to 2.21%. 

• Agriculture & Food recorded $3.8 million 

• Services followed with $0.5 million while Healthcare attracted only $0.1 million. 

Notably, Education & Jobs recorded the highest number of deals among the smaller sectors at 12 but attracted only $9.6 million. Logistics & Transport, on the other hand, had only two deals but attracted $263 million. 

The deal-type breakdown illustrated that Series C transactions accounted for $250 million, or 57.43% of the funding. This was driven by Moove’s $250 million round. 

• Venture rounds followed with $124.2 million across seven deals, representing 28.53% of funding. 

• Series A rounds generated $30.5 million across two deals, representing 7.01%. 

• Bonds accounted for $20.7 million from one deal, representing 4.76%. 

• Debt transactions contributed $6.2 million across three deals, while pre-seed funding contributed $2 million from three deals. 

• Grants accounted for $1.2 million across 12 deals, while pre-Series A transactions contributed $0.5 million from one deal. 

August 2026 marked a defining month for African startup funding, with capital flowing overwhelmingly to a handful of market leaders. Nigeria led the charge, powered by Moove’s landmark raise and other major deals that helped West Africa account for more than 80% of total funding. 

Despite fewer deals than in July 2026 and August 2025, funding volumes surged, highlighting investors’ growing preference for larger, more established startups with proven business models and strong growth potential. While this signals confidence in Africa’s scale-up ecosystem, it also underscores the need for sustained funding opportunities for early-stage startups driving the next wave of innovation.