Technology start-ups in Africa secured total funding of more than US$185,7m, or R3,1bn, in 2015, according to new data.
Research by Disrupt Africa, a website that focuses on the start-up ecosystem on the continent, found that the money was shared between 125 technology start-ups.
The African Tech Start-ups Funding Report 2015 found that South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya were investors’ favoured destinations, with 36% of start-ups that received funding based in South Africa, followed by 24% from Nigeria and 14,4% from third-placed Kenya.
“The top three highest amounts of funding also went to these three locations,” Disrupt Africa said in a statement. “South African start-ups raised in excess of $54,6m throughout the year; Nigerian start-ups received over $49,4m; and Kenyan start-ups brought home over $47m.”
The solar energy industry saw the most investor activity, accounting for 32,9% of total funds raised, the report said. The financial technology sector was a close second at 29,6% of the total.
“Our data shows the increasing vibrancy of our ecosystem, with more quality tech start-ups and more investor activity than ever before,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan in a statement.
Although the company concedes that there have been funding rounds across the continent that have taken place below the radar and so haven’t been included in the report. “In terms of demonstrating the development of the ecosystem, these figures are an excellent starting point. We expect to see further growth in 2016,” said company co-founder Tom Jackson.
The report found that outside Africa’s three main markets of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Tanzania were key hotspots for funding activity. – © 2015 NewsCentral Media