Venture Capital and private equity firms are pouring more money into African startups than ever. As at the end of October 2019, according research firm, Green TechCapital, close to 80 startups spread across mostly Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Cairo have received $699 million in funding from investors.
The funding coincides with growth in incubation programs, innovation and co-working hubs, dotting most of the large cities in preparation for a future of massive enterprise on the continent; as it moves from being a resource-based to a knowledge and market driven economy.
Goldman Sach is one of the prominent contributors to the record funding so far. The firm led fundraising efforts that berthed around $40 million for Jumia and Kenya’s Twiga Foods this year.
While close to 28% of the funding have gone to fintech startups, e-commerce and other ventures also accounted for a significant part of the largess.
Therefore, startups that received more than $1 million dollars in funding in 2019 are Kobo360, Jumia and Twiga Foods, and then Andela. By the time the year rounds off, the record funding is expected to have surpassed the entire investment received by startups across Africa in 2018.
More, it is noteworthy that the French government, among other government corporations, have promised to invest $2.3 billion in raising the level of entrepreneurship on the continent before 2022.
It sounds like this is the best time to be an entrepreneur.
