African FinTechs received the lion’s share of the $129 million invested in 146 of the continent’s tech startups in 2016, accounting for a combined $31,4 million, according to Disrupt Africa’s African Tech Startups Funding Report. It was followed by the agricultural sector.
- Nominate your company for the African FinTech Awards 2017.
The number of startups securing funding up by 16.8% compared to the previous year. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are still the three most popular investment destinations on the continent, both in terms of numbers of deals and total amount of funding, with the three countries accounting for 80.3% of funds secured. Egypt was the fourth-most attractive for investors, experiencing over 100% growth in fundraising.
While the global economic downturn continues to have a negative impact on many sectors, the world's FinTech firms are benefitting from an increased interest in technology to streamline processes and cut costs.
Global investment in FinTech ventures has tripled over the last five years and is expected to double again to an estimated $6 billion by 2018. More amenable legislation and a distinct lack of legacy systems are also aiding the rise of FinTech FinTech in Africa, while increased digital connectivity is another contributing factor.
