Morocco, fifth in Africa for startup fundraising in 2024
According to the annual report ‘Africa: The Big Deal’, Moroccan startups have raised 70 million dollars, which places the country in fifth place on the African continent. The report, which has been produced annually since 2019, is dedicated to analysing and tracking African startup funding to provide a comprehensive database of investments and trends in the sector.
Ranking results
Morocco ranked fifth, behind Kenya, with 638 million, Nigeria, 410 million, Egypt, 400 million, and South Africa, with 394 million. These four countries accounted for almost 84% of total funding raised on the continent at the end of last year, totalling 2.2 billion dollars in the form of equity, debt and grants (excluding outflows).
While this is a significant amount for the market in absolute terms, it represents a 25% drop from the 2.9 billion dollars raised in 2023 and a 52.17% drop from the 4.6 billion dollars raised in the same year. In addition to a considerable drop of 52.17% compared to the 4.6 billion dollars recorded in 2022.
Behind Morocco in the top 10 of the list are Ghana, which raised 68 million, Tanzania, 53 million, Benin, 50 million, Côte d'Ivoire, 33 million, and finally Senegal, which raised 22 million.
East Africa
The East Africa region attracted the most investment for the second year in a row, reaching a total of $725 million or, in other words, one out of every three dollars on the continent in 2024. Kenya alone accounted for 88% of the total recorded in this territory, and 29% of all funds raised on the continent. However, the 2024 figure represents an 18% drop from 2023.
Tanzania also ranked high in the region with 53 million dollars, followed by Uganda with 19 million dollars.
West Africa
West Africa ended 2024 in second place, with 587 million dollars (27% of funding) and having moved up the ranking from fourth place in 2023.
This rise is explained by the economic boost in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, thanks to which the region recorded only a slight 3% drop in funding in 2024 compared to the previous year.
North and southern Africa down
In areas such as North Africa, investment has fallen sharply: by 35% between 2023 and 2024, bringing the figure to 478 million dollars (22% of total funding).
The main cause is the 37% recession in Egypt, the largest drop seen among the ‘Big 4’. Egypt accounted for 84% of total funds raised in the region last year and, according to the report, ‘although Morocco has held up relatively well, this has not been enough to compensate for the decline’.
Southern Africa accounted for 18% of total funding, with 397 million dollars. However, it has also seen a decline this past year, with a contraction of 36%, due to a 34% drop in South Africa. This drop has weighed down the region's figures, as it accounts for 99.4% of all funding received in the region.
Finally, Central African countries made only a few transactions in 2024, for a total amount of 5 million dollars, 10 times less than in 2023, which places them at the lowest levels ever seen in the region.
The report highlights the concentration in the sector: half of the funding is concentrated in just 10 companies, with another 188 startups raising 1 million dollars or more.
