Africa’s startup funding opened 2026 on a slow note, with just 26 ventures raising $174 million in January, according to Africa: The Big Deal. The figure is well below January 2025 levels, despite marking a rebound from earlier January slumps.
According to the Africa: The Big Deal report titled January 2026: a muted start of the year, “a relatively slow start of the year doesn’t make a bad year” and “neither does it signal a downward trend.” The report added that a month-on-month dip between December and January is not unusual.
Data showed that start-ups across Africa raised $174 million in January 2026 through disclosed deals of $100,000 and above, covering equity, debt and grants, excluding exits. This is lower than the $276 million raised in January 2025 and below the 12-month monthly average of $263 million, but higher than January 2023 at $106 million and January 2024 at $85 million.
The report said the more concerning issue is the low number of funded ventures. Only 26 start-ups announced funding of at least $100,000 during the month. Africa: The Big Deal described this as “very low,” adding that the figure is just above half of both the January 2025 count and the average monthly deal volume. It said this is “the lowest monthly tally on record since at least 2020.”
Among the top fundraisers was Egyptian fintech valU, which secured $64 million in debt from the National Bank. Nigerian mobility financing start-up MAX raised $24 million through equity and asset-backed debt. Four others raised $10 million in equity: NowPay in Egypt with $20 million, Morocco-based proptech firm Yakeey with a $15 million Series A, Terra Industries with $12 million, and Côte d’Ivoire fintech Cauridor.
On the exit front, not included in the totals, Flutterwave acquired Mono in Nigeria for around $30 million, while Savannah and Qotto were also acquired. The report ended with, “Now: Bring it on, February,” for Africa.
