Billion Dollar Club -WT Launches Africa Unicorn Tracker

The African continent has experienced and witnessed an increase in both the volume and size of VC investments over the years, with more and more companies breaking barriers and recording billion-dollar valuations.

Weetracker has compiled a comprehensive Africa unicorn tracker that focuses on five main areas: industries, total funding raised, current valuation, primary markets, and key investors.

With 800+ unicorns across the globe, Africa boasts 10 with a combined valuation of USD 15 Bn+. The companies include Jumia Global, Interswitch Group, Fawry Banking & Payment Technology Services, Flutterwave, Opay Digital Services Limited, Critical Ideas Inc (Chipper Cash), GO1, Swvl, Wave Mobile Money, and Andela.

6 out of 10 of these Unicorns are fintechs recording a combined valuation of USD 9.2 Bn, representing 61% of the overall valuation. EdTech, HRTech, E-Commerce, and Ride-Hailing sectors have all produced 1 unicorn each.

Nigeria stands as the most active primary market for 6 of these companies, 4 of them being fintechs. Egypt, South Africa, and Senegal also claim a piece of the pie.

As investments continue to grow, the amount of time it takes for a startup in Africa to attain unicorn status seems to have significantly reduced. While Fawry (founded in 2008) and Interswitch (founded in 2002) took 12 and 17 years respectively to attain unicorn status, the other 8 companies have taken 7 years or less to achieve the same. 6 of the 10 unicorns have emerged within the first three quarters of 2021.

Key investors in these billion-dollar companies include SoftBank Ventures, Partech Africa, IFC, Sequoia Capital, Visa, SVB Capital, Tiger Global, Rocket internet, and Luxor Capital.

Note:

*The data provided is as of October 14, 2021, and will be updated regularly.

*If you have any more data and information to add or change, feel free to share with us through [email protected].