Venture capital funding in the African continent reached a new high in the first quarter of 2022, with total investments crossing the $ 1 billion threshold, according to Magnitt.

African startups have raised a total of $1,235 million in funding since the beginning of the year, marking the highest first quarter funding in seven years, startup website Magnitt said in its quarterly report on Africa.

The continent’s VC funding has recorded a 230 percent growth in Q1 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

The fintech industry attracted 54 percent of all capital invested in the continent, followed by transport and logistics, e-commerce and retail.

Nigeria remains the top African country in terms of the amount of capital raised. The continent’s most populous country has attracted $437 million, accounting for 35 percent of all funds raised, said the report. Also, Nigerian startups accounted for more than 30 percent of the total number of deals closed in Africa.

As to Kenya, the report showed that it was the second most-funded country in Q1 jumping three ranks and surpassing its previous frontrunners South Africa and Egypt. Kenyan startups have already raised a total of $ 401 million in the first quarter with an average round size of $14 million, according to Magnitt.

During the last quarter, both Nigeria and Kenya had witnessed mega deals of investments surpassing $100 million. In February, the Lagos-based fintech company Flutterwave raised $250 million in a Series D round, which accounted for 70% of all capital invested in fintech and 57% of the total funding raised in Nigeria in the first quarter, noted Magnitt.  

In March, the Nairobi-based B2B platform Wasoko- formerly known as Sokowatch — announced that it had raised $125 million in Series B funding.

Despite a drop in funding compared to previous years, South Africa came first in terms of the number of exists recorded, accounting for five out of the continent’s 11 exists, Magnitt said.

(Writing by Noha El Hennawy; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com