The African tech and digital world is full of promise! In an annual report on the financing of African startups, venture capital fund Partech Africa praised the continent's dynamism.
Created by Cyril Collon and Tidjane Dème, Partech Africa is an investment fund dedicated to startups on the continent. Based in Dakar, this investment fund targets high-potential tech startups operating in sectors such as fintech, online and mobile services, mobility, and the digitization of the informal economy.
According to the report published on March 22, 2018 was a record year. The figures revealed confirm the growing attractiveness of African tech entrepreneurs and their ability to transform the continent.
As a reminder, the report is based on a specific methodology: it focuses solely on African startups, i.e., companies whose primary market is on the continent. In addition, the report only covers equity fundraising in the tech and digital sector that exceeds $200,000 and is less than $100 million.
In 2018, 146 African tech startups raised a total of $1.163 billion in equity capital in 164 rounds of
funding.
According to the two executives: "When we created the Partech Africa fund in 2015, we expected to exceed $1 billion by 2020. We are already two years ahead of our projections."
However, Africa's dynamism in terms of innovation remains very uneven.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa remain at the top of the rankings, accounting for 78% of total investments made in 2018. Nevertheless, the geographical distribution has broadened over the past year, with a total of 19 countries accounting for at least one technology investment contract worth more than $200,000 this year, compared to 13 countries in 2017.
Although these three countries overshadow the rest of the continent in terms of technology, in French-speaking Africa, Senegal ranks seventh in the rankings with $22 million raised in four fundraising rounds.
In terms of the sectors most affected by fundraising in 2018, financial inclusion driven by Fintech remains the most attractive sector for investment, accounting for 50.0% of total funding. In second place, the B2B solutions sector is booming.
This 2018 report by Partech Africa is optimistic and confirms the growing attractiveness of African start-ups and their ability to transform the continent into a major global player.