North Africa dominated all other sub-regions of the continent in terms of investment volume and value in the first nine months of 2024, according to a report published by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA).
The performance was driven by several rounds of funding in the third quarter, which saw 78 startups in the region raise a total of $368 million.
East Africa came in second, with 75 startups raising $196 million. West Africa, traditionally the leading region, came in third with $185 million raised by 73 startups.
This was followed by Southern Africa, with $152 million raised by 51 startups, and Central Africa, with $6 million raised by 7 startups.
Finally, 29 startups operating in several African sub-regions attracted $326 million in the first nine months of the year.
The Venture Capital Activity in Africa Q3 2024 report shows that 32% of the startups that raised funds in Africa between January 1 and October 31, 2024 were in the fintech sector.
These companies, which cover areas such as cryptocurrencies, e-payments, mobile wallets and digital banking, raised $564 million in the same period.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and climate tech startups accounted for 26% of deals, with each sector attracting 13% of investment.
However, the report also revealed that venture capital firms invested a total of $1.2 billion in African start-ups between January and September 2024.
Spread across 313 companies, these funds represent the weakest performance of the continent’s venture capital industry since 2020.
