Equity funding for African startups rose 23 per cent to $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2026, reaching its highest level for the period since 2022, even as total funding declined slightly amid a reduction in debt financing.
Startups across the continent raised $2.16 billion between January and September 2026, compared with $2.24 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a 4 per cent year-on-year decline, according to Africa: The Big Deal, a platform tracking startup funding across the continent.
The figures show a shift in the composition of startup financing, with equity investments accounting for a larger share of funds raised as debt deals slowed. The $1.5 billion raised through equity represents an increase from $1.2 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Equity funding also exceeded the totals recorded in the first nine months of 2023, 2024 and 2025, when startups raised $1.4 billion, $1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
The performance was particularly strong in the third quarter, when startups secured $580 million in equity funding, more than twice the $236 million raised in the corresponding quarter of 2025. It was the strongest third-quarter equity performance since 2021, according to the report.
The increase was supported by several large transactions across different sectors, including Moove’s $250 million Series C funding round in August. Other notable equity deals included Jumia’s $50 million raise, Yellow Card’s $40 million funding round, Paymob’s $35 million investment and Odyssey Energy Solutions’ $27 million raise. Moment also secured $22 million in Series A funding.
Although Moove’s transaction accounted for a substantial portion of third-quarter equity funding, Africa: The Big Deal said equity financing would still have increased by 40 per cent year-on-year even without the $250 million deal, indicating that the quarter’s performance was not entirely dependent on a single transaction.
However, the growth in equity funding was offset by a contraction in debt financing, which fell 33 per cent to $669 million in the first nine months of 2026 from approximately $1 billion a year earlier.
Debt accounted for 31 per cent of total startup funding during the period, down from 45 per cent in the first nine months of 2025. It nevertheless remained a more established source of financing than it was before 2023, when debt represented between five and 16 per cent of total funding.
The report attributed much of the decline to a slowdown in debt financing for energy startups, which have historically been among the continent’s largest recipients of such funding.
Energy startups raised $93 million in debt between January and September 2026, compared with $585 million in the same period of 2025. The previous year’s figures had been boosted by large transactions involving d.light, which raised $300 million in debt, and Sun King, which secured $156 million.
Debt deals recorded in 2026 were more widely distributed across sectors, with ValU raising $64 million, Sistema.bio securing $53 million, and Spiro and NALA each raising $50 million. Odyssey Energy Solutions also secured $47 million in debt financing.
Looking beyond the nine-month period, the report found that total startup funding had remained relatively stable over the preceding 15 months, generally ranging between $2.9 billion and $3.3 billion on a rolling 12-month basis.
Total funding reached $3.1 billion in the 12 months to September 2026, compared with $3 billion a year earlier. Within that total, rolling equity funding increased to $2.2 billion from $1.8 billion, its highest level in three years.
Debt financing moved in the opposite direction after reaching a record $1.4 billion in March 2026 before falling to $840 million by the end of September.
