Nigeria Loses Top Spot to Kenya in Africa’s Tech Market 

The tech market in Africa saw a reevaluation of investments in 2023, especially in the countries that have become recognized as the “big four” tech markets. The tech research firm ‘Africa: The Big Deal’ has made this deduction.

The research group claims that Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa—Africa’s four biggest tech markets—are beginning to level out in terms of the distribution of tech finance.

Kenya surpassed Nigeria in 2023 to become the country with the greatest quantity of tech capital on the continent, but Nigeria had long held a dominating lead in the amount of dollars invested in its tech sector.

The survey also reveals that, for the first time in a long time, the distribution of tech capital among the four markets was fairly even.

“The ‘Big Four’ received 87% of all start-up funding in Africa in 2023, which is their highest percentage since 2019. 71% (357 out of 500) of the start-ups on the continent that raised at least $100k last year were based there.

Part of the research stated, “Given their weight, their ranking essentially mirrors the regional one, with Nigeria’s story quite different from the others.”

“With just under $800m raised in 2023, Kenya attracted the most funding, 28% of the continent’s total. While it suffered a decline (-25% YoY), its share of Eastern Africa’s funding grew from 86% in 2022 to 91% in 2023. 93 start-ups raised $100k or more during the period (19% of Africa’s total),” the report adds.

Nigeria experienced the most noticeable shift, moving from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $410 million in 2023—the lowest of the top four—despite having the biggest number of start-ups—146—during the year.

Egypt has the fewest initiatives among the Big Four, with only 48 raising more than $100,000 in 2023.
It does, however, have the second-highest financing total—$640 million—after Egypt. The unicorn MNT-Halan, which has raised almost $400 million on its own, also calls it home.

Lastly, it reported that 70 start-ups in South Africa have raised at least $100,000 in funding, for a total of $600 million in funding by 2023.