Grace Ashiru
African startups raised $2.16 billion between January and September 2026, excluding exits. That’s 4% below the $2.24 billion raised in the same period of 2025. The headline number hides a bigger shift; the mix of money changed.
Equity funding hit $1.5 billion, up 23% year on year. Debt went the other way, falling 33% to $669 million from about $1 billion. Debt’s share of total funding dropped to roughly 31%, down from 45% a year earlier.
Few saw this coming in July. That month, 44 startups raised $102 million, and only $25 million was equity, the lowest monthly equity total since April 2019. Debt made up 74% of July’s funding. M-KOPA led with a $30 million senior debt facility from Dutch development bank FMO to finance electric motorbikes in Kenya, and Bridgement followed with $20 million.
A handful of very large equity rounds turned the year around. In May, Paymentology raised $175 million in a round co-led by Apis Partners and Aspirity Partners. Spiro took $215 million in equity from Impact Fund Denmark and Equitane, then added $55 million from Chinese growth fund NewTrails Capital.
August was the year’s biggest month, at $438 million. Moove closed a $250 million Series C at a $2.1 billion valuation, led by Mubadala and co-led by Toyota’s growth fund Woven Capital and Ion Pacific. Jumia raised $50 million, anchored by $25 million from the IFC, with existing shareholder Axian also taking part. Yellow Card closed $40 million from SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital and Blockchain Capital.
That concentration matters. Most of the equity went to a few late-stage companies; early-stage founders leaned more on government grants, fellowships and small Web3 cheques.
The longer view is steadier. Over the 12 months to September, startups raised about $3.1 billion, up slightly from $3 billion in the prior 12 months. Rolling equity reached about $2.2 billion, up from $1.8 billion and the highest level in three years. Debt is down this year, but it still plays a much larger role in the ecosystem than it did before 2023.
The full-year target is now $3 billion. Funding could get close if the last quarter follows recent patterns, and one late mega-round would put it within reach
