Who is funding Africa’s startups?
You might have heard this 17th-century English quote, “He who pays the piper dictates the tune”. The more direct equivalent is the golden rule, which says, “he who has the gold makes the rule”. These quotes emphasise the power those with resources wield in making decisions and determining outcomes in economic or social settings.
This explains why investors hold significant influence across different sectors—they provide capital for businesses to hire staff, purchase equipment, create products and distribute to their customers. You could say that investors make the business world go round, especially in the startup ecosystem.
Key takeaways:
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Among the ten most active investors (people making many investment deals) in Africa's technology ecosystem between 2019 and 2022, Africans were responsible for 46% of these deals.
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But when all domestic investors are compared to foreign investors, domestic investors only account for 1 in 3 or 34% of deals done on the African continent in the same period.
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Investment deals by domestic investors grew by 230% and 246% in 2020 and 2021, respectively, which is faster than the growth of foreign and total deals.
Startups require capital as the need for rapid growth embedded within their DNA requires them to raise money from investors to achieve their growth targets.
It is no surprise that funding receives significant attention from operators and other stakeholders in the African ecosystem. Although most of the attention is focused
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