Key Takeaways
- • Partech's 2025 report shows African tech companies raised about US$4.1 billion in equity and debt, with Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria capturing 72 per cent of total funding and about 81 per cent of equity funding.
- • Nigeria's equity funding fell to US$412 million in 2025 from US$520 million in 2024 across 83 deals, while South Africa raised US$643 million across 85 deals, making it Africa's leading equity market.
- • Female-founded startups accounted for 19 per cent of African equity deals and 10 per cent of equity funding in 2025, and male founders raised on average 8.5 times as much venture capital as female founders.
- • No female-led startup secured growth-stage funding in 2025, and two-thirds of female-led deals were at seed stage, according to Partech data cited in the article.
- • World Bank research found 56 per cent of loan applications from women-led Nigerian firms were rejected versus 17 per cent for men, pointing to collateral and record-keeping as constraints; the author argues cash-flow-based lending and sex-disaggregated investment data are needed.
Summary
An opinion piece by Dr Akinbinu, an entrepreneur and business consultant writing from Johannesburg, argues that venture capital in Nigeria and South Africa is concentrated by country, sector and founder network, and that women receive a disproportionately small share of funding. The author cites Partech's 2025 report, which shows African technology companies raised about US$4.1 billion in equity and debt, with Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria accounting for 72 per cent of total funding.
The two largest markets diverge. Nigeria's equity funding fell to US$412 million in 2025 from US$520 million in 2024, across 83 deals, and fintech made up 56 per cent of that equity funding. South Africa raised US$643 million across 85 deals, with cleantech at 21 per cent, health technology at 17 per cent and fintech at about 14 per cent, reflecting a more diversified market.
Gender data show the sharpest imbalance. According to Partech, female-founded startups took 19 per cent of African equity deals and 10 per cent of total equity funding in 2025. Ninety startups with female founders raised equity, and male founders raised on average 8.5 times as much as female founders. The gap narrowed from 2024 but remains substantial. Nigeria and South Africa ranked among the ten African countries with the most female-founder deals, with 16 and 17 respectively.
The author links the financing gap in Nigeria to collateral constraints. Citing World Bank research, the piece notes women own about 40 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, yet 52 per cent of women-led firms cited access to finance as a major constraint, compared with 30 per cent of male-led firms. The author proposes cash-flow-based lending, drawing on the World Bank's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative with the Development Bank of Nigeria, as a response, and calls for sex-disaggregated investment data to test claims of equal opportunity.
The article also identifies positive examples, including Agritech and Insurtech as the only sectors to reach gender parity in 2025 equity funding, and warns that connectivity and logistics technology recorded no female-founded equity deals. The author recommends broader sourcing channels, measurable gender targets for fund managers and public guarantees or first-loss structures, while noting that not every viable company needs venture capital.
The two largest markets diverge. Nigeria's equity funding fell to US$412 million in 2025 from US$520 million in 2024, across 83 deals, and fintech made up 56 per cent of that equity funding. South Africa raised US$643 million across 85 deals, with cleantech at 21 per cent, health technology at 17 per cent and fintech at about 14 per cent, reflecting a more diversified market.
Gender data show the sharpest imbalance. According to Partech, female-founded startups took 19 per cent of African equity deals and 10 per cent of total equity funding in 2025. Ninety startups with female founders raised equity, and male founders raised on average 8.5 times as much as female founders. The gap narrowed from 2024 but remains substantial. Nigeria and South Africa ranked among the ten African countries with the most female-founder deals, with 16 and 17 respectively.
The author links the financing gap in Nigeria to collateral constraints. Citing World Bank research, the piece notes women own about 40 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, yet 52 per cent of women-led firms cited access to finance as a major constraint, compared with 30 per cent of male-led firms. The author proposes cash-flow-based lending, drawing on the World Bank's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative with the Development Bank of Nigeria, as a response, and calls for sex-disaggregated investment data to test claims of equal opportunity.
The article also identifies positive examples, including Agritech and Insurtech as the only sectors to reach gender parity in 2025 equity funding, and warns that connectivity and logistics technology recorded no female-founded equity deals. The author recommends broader sourcing channels, measurable gender targets for fund managers and public guarantees or first-loss structures, while noting that not every viable company needs venture capital.
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