Nigeria’s Bubbly Startup Scene Is Blazing A Trail In African Tech

Nigeria leads the way for tech startup funding on the African continent over the last eight years, with fintech companies the main driver. That is according to the Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report 2022, released by Disrupt Africa; a startup-focused publication and research firm.

The Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report, which came together in partnership with venture firms, startups, and other startup-focused institutions, utilises datasets, expertise and networks to provide a detailed overview of the Nigerian startup ecosystem and its development over the last 5-10 years.

The publication takes as its starting point a list of 481 Nigerian tech startups for which enough data was available. Lagos is the leading hub for Nigerian tech, with 88.4 per cent of the startups tracked by this report based out of the city, while fintech is the leading sub-sector, with 173 (36 percent) of the startups active in this space, as reported in a release shared with WeeTracker.

Nigeria is the most popular investment destination on the continent, according to the publication. Between January 2015 and August 2022, 383 tech startups raised a combined ~USD 2.06 B – a higher total than any other country. Nigeria’s dominance is only getting greater in this regard. So far in 2022, 107 Nigerian startups have raised funding, accounting for around one-third of the continent’s funded startups so far this year. The country’s running tally for 2022 stands at around USD 747 M – closing in last year’s total, according to the report.

“Nigeria has long been a pioneering startup ecosystem on the African continent, leading the way in various sectors and increasingly becoming a focus for investment. It is high time we dug deeper into its growth, and this report does just that. We hope it serves as a valuable resource for both those already active in Nigeria and those looking to start doing business there soon,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

More findings from the report indicate that only 75 (15.6 percent) of Nigerian tech startups have at least one female founder, and just short of half have taken place in some form of accelerator or incubator programme. The 481 startups tracked employ almost 20,000 people between them, the analysis suggests.

The report also involves an analysis of what areas startups are active in, a detailed look at funding and M&A trends, and details the range of startup support services available to Nigerian entrepreneurs, including hubs, incubators, accelerators, and government, corporate and university initiatives.

“The African startup ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth with impressive achievements. Reliable and informative reports about the ecosystem raise the profile of our sector beyond Africa, and that interest helps to drive investments in productive startups,” said Eric Muli, CEO of LIpaLater Group, one of the partners in the report.

Sabi; a startup providing commercial infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services in Africa, is also among the players in the African tech startup ecosystem that teamed up on the report, as are Quona Capital, MAX,ng, Talking Drum Communications, Kwik, and Newtown Partners.

Featured Image Credits: Innovation Works