African startups raise $183 million in October as funding falls 58%

African startups raised a combined $183 million in funding in October 2026, representing a 58% decline from the $435 million recorded in the corresponding month of 2025, as investment activity across the continent remained subdued.

The amount, which excludes exits, was raised by 34 startups that announced funding rounds of at least $100,000, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal.

October’s funding total was also 24% lower than the $241 million raised in September and 29% below the average monthly funding of $259 million recorded over the preceding 12 months.

The number of startups securing funding also fell below the recent average, with 34 ventures announcing deals compared with a monthly average of 43 over the past year.

Nigeria leads October funding with $42 million

Nigeria emerged as the largest funding destination in October, attracting $42 million across nine startups, largely through debt financing in the energy and mobility sectors.

• Morocco and Tanzania followed with $40 million each, while Egypt attracted $19 million and Senegal recorded $13 million.
• Startups in Africa’s Big Four markets accounted for 46% of October funding, their lowest monthly share since November 2022.
• However, these markets still accounted for 26 of the 34 startups that raised at least $100,000 during the month.

The two largest funding rounds were secured by ventures outside the traditional Big Four markets.

Moroccan healthcare startup ABA Life raised $40 million from Admaius Capital Partners, while Tanzanian agritech company East Africa Foods secured a $40 million Series B round from investors including InfraCo Africa, Oikocredit and FMO.

These were followed by several debt transactions, including a $17 million bond issuance by Egyptian fintech company ValU, $13 million raised by Senegalese renewable energy company Afreenergy Solar, an $11 million loan from Finnfund to Bisedge, and a $10 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Nigerian energy technology company Beacon Power Services.

Climate technology companies accounted for 55% of the funding raised during the month.

Equity accounts for 60% of October funding

Equity financing accounted for $110 million, or 60% of the total funding announced in October, while debt represented $71 million, equivalent to 39%. Grants contributed approximately $2 million.

The month also recorded four exits, including MNT-Halan’s initial public offering on the Egyptian Exchange, which valued the company at a market capitalisation of $1.4 billion at the time of the report.

Other transactions included HealthPay’s acquisition of PeacePay in Egypt, the completion of GiG Software’s acquisition of 888Africa in Mozambique, and the sale of South African accommodation platform LekkeSlaap to South African investors.

The exits brought the total number recorded in 2026 to 38, compared with 42 over the same period in 2025.

African startup funding falls 12% in January-October

Cumulatively, African startups raised $2.4 billion between January and October 2026, representing a 12% decline from the $2.7 billion recorded over the corresponding period of 2025.

• Debt financing declined by 33% year-on-year to $740 million from $1.1 billion, while equity funding increased by 5% to $1.6 billion.
• The number of startups securing at least $100,000 also weakened. A total of 343 startups announced qualifying funding rounds in the first 10 months of 2026, down 22% from 438 recorded over the same period last year.
• This represents the lowest January-to-October total since Africa: The Big Deal began tracking funding rounds of at least $100,000 in 2021.

The number of identified active investors also declined, falling 16% to more than 370 from over 442 in the corresponding period of 2025.

With two months remaining in the year, African startups would need to raise $814 million in November and December to match the $3.2 billion recorded in 2025. This compares with the $496 million raised during the same two months last year, making a repeat of the previous year’s total unlikely.

However, equity funding could still outperform its 2025 performance. African startups need another $338 million to exceed the $1.9 billion raised in equity funding last year, an amount below the average monthly equity funding recorded over the past 12 months.

Nigeria’s startup funding trends

Nigeria’s position as a leading destination for startup investment comes amid strong but uneven funding activity across the African technology ecosystem.

Nairametrics reported in October 2026 that Nigerian startups attracted $635 million between January and September 2026, more than double the $247 million recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.

However, monthly fundraising activity remained volatile. Nairametrics reported that nine Nigerian startups raised a combined $11.3 million in September 2026, representing a 96.9% decline from the $364.1 million secured by 20 startups in August.