Research by startup funding platform VC4Africa reveals that African countries have diverse startup scenes, with investments varying widely across the continent.
According to the research South Africa has the highest average startup investment amount, Nigeria has the highest number of startup investments, and Kenya has the highest startup investments in total.
VC4Africa (Venture Capital for Africa) is an online platform for entrepreneurs and investors in Africa with a community of over 20,000 members in 159 countries, including 600 investors.
Co-founder Ben White shared these and other insights at the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Milan, the annual gathering of startup champions, with attendees from over 150 countries, saying that it was the time for investors to start paying to the continent.
“The research shows there are a growing number of businesses that are successfully growing their operations over time and adding much needed jobs to the African marketplace. This is a key message to investors. Now is the time to get involved in this space”, he says.
“It is known that South Africa’s startup scene includes more mature ventures and explains the bigger ticket sizes”
VC4Africa surveyed its community of entrepreneurs and investors, tracking the progress across Africa’s startup funding scenes, the results of which are compiled in the Venture Finance in Africa report.
According to the website, VC4Africa, was able to track 104 investments in startups across Africa listed on its platform, with a total amount of USD 27 million.
Investment amounts
Out of the 104 tracked investments, most were in Nigeria (24), followed by Kenya (19), Tanzania (12), South Africa (11), Ghana (10), Uganda (10), Cameroon (9) and Egypt (9).
“Countries like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana are often named as examples of startup hotspots in Africa. Nigeria, coming out as the continent’s top startup investment destination, recently got more and more attention, for example with new incubators opening and the two most recent DEMO Africa events”, the report says.
On average, of the tracked startup investments in the eight countries mentioned above, the research showed that the largest average investment in South Africa ($250K), followed by Kenya (slightly lower, rounded off $250K as well). Behind this are Uganda ($152K), and – at a distance – Tanzania ($66K), Ghana ($65K), Nigeria ($57K), Egypt ($42K), and Cameroon ($28K).
“It is known that South Africa’s startup scene includes more mature ventures and explains the bigger ticket sizes” the report details.
Some African startups that have raised funding include TopCheck, Tugende, IroFit, Ubongo, Soko, Karibu Solar, Njorku, Kiro’o Games and many others.
Think innovations such as a touch sticker, a platform for social gaming, mobile payment startups, recycling waste for street lamps, edu tech ventures, messaging and other apps, and more.
According to the report, “each venture is scalable, makes smart use of technology, or is disruptive in their application of a business model”.