In what appeared to be a gradual recovery for African startups, June appeared to have changed the narrative with startups having secured $365 million in funding.
Africa: The Big Deal in its analysis for June is the best single-month performance in nearly a year.
The analysis showed that June pushed total funding for the first half of the year (H1 2025) to $1.35 billion, representing a 78 per cent surge compared to the $800 million raised in the same period in 2024.
The H1 2025 total also nearly matches the $1.37 billion raised in the second half of 2024, reflecting a marginal 1.5 per cent decline.
Further analysis showed that while June’s performance certainly helped lift the numbers, it was not a one-off success.
Four out of the six months in H1 2025 saw monthly totals exceeding $250 million, further cementing the year’s upward funding trend.
By contrast, March was a notable low point but now looks like an outlier rather than a signal of broader weakness.
On average, African startups raised $237 million monthly in H1 2025, significantly higher than the $133 million average recorded during H1 2024 and also well above the $187 million monthly average for the full year 2024.
Equity funding, according to ‘Africa: The Big Deal’, led the way, with startups raising $950 million in H1 2025 – a 79 per cent increase compared to H1 2024.
However, it marked a seven per cent drop from the $1.02 billion in equity raised in H2 2024. Debt funding, which had lagged earlier in the year, experienced a remarkable resurgence in June.
Startups raised $227 million in debt last month alone, more than half of the entire H1 debt total and the highest monthly debt figure in over two years. Notably, Senegal-based fintech Wave accounted for $137 million of that sum.
By the end of June, debt funding had reached $400 million, up 55 per cent from H1 2024 and nearly identical to the $405 million raised in H2 2024.
With both equity and debt instruments contributing significantly to the improved numbers, industry observers say Africa’s startup funding ecosystem appears to be stabilising after a prolonged downturn that began in 2022.
The consistent performance across multiple months signals growing investor confidence and improved deal flow, even as global macroeconomic uncertainties persist. If the momentum holds through the second half of the year, 2025 may mark the beginning of a sustained recovery in the African technology space.
