Nigerian tech companies have had a wild 2018 in terms of funding. By November, the top 10 funding rounds by Nigerian startups had a combined $76.3 million investments.
Although this figure seems pretty high, you should note that two South African startups alone have raised nearly twice this amount. JUMO, a fintech company, raised $64.5 million this year, and Zola Electric also raised $74 million.
Nevertheless, what’s intriguing about Nigerian startups is that the volume of deals keep raising. For instance, of the 21 biggest deals on the continent this year, 9 are Nigerian.
And these five startups raised the most investments this year.
5. Paga
As Paga Hits 10 Million Customers, See other Nigerian Startups that Reached Major Milestones in Octoberhttps://t.co/L3m8EOAN4g
— David Afolayan (@aforisms_) October 29, 2018
Fintech company, Paga recorded another massive funding round in 2018. Paga raised $10 million from Global Innovation Fund (GIF). This means it has now raised $34.7 million in four rounds since 2010. The new investment is in line with Paga’s plans to expand to other African and international markets. Digest Africa reports that places like Ethiopia and Mexico are on the cards.
4. Flutterwave
Flutterwave recently concluded an extension of its Series A funding round, with key participation from global payments company Mastercard, CRE Ventures, Fintech Collective, 4DX Ventures & Raba Capital
— Olúwatósìn Olaseinde (@tosinolaseinde) October 15, 2018
It kick-started its Series A subsequently announcing raising $10m
Nairametric
In October, Flutterwave secured another $10 million funding from international investors. The deal was an extension of the $10 million Series A funding it received in 2017. Total investment now stands at $20.1 million.
3. PayStack
Revolutionary Nigerian payments company, PayStack also impressed in 2018 with its round of funding. The startup announced a new $10.2 million round of funding from investors including Stripe, Visa and China’s Tencent. These investors are huge players in the financial world, with Tencent’s WeChat being the biggest multi-purpose platform in China. Paystack’s new investment allows it to enter new markets across Africa. It recently began operations in Ghana.
https://technext.ng/2018/12/21/here-are-technext-top-5-fintech-startups-of-2018/
2. Mines.IO
In August 2018, four year old Mines.IO announced one of the biggest funding rounds in Nigeria. The fintech company raised a whooping $13 million from several investors. TPG’s The Rise Fund, a $1 billion venture fund, led the round. Other investors include Velocity Capital, Western Technology Investments, First Ally Capital, X/Seed Capital, NYCA Partners, Persistent Capital, Singularity Investments, Trans Sahara Investments, and the Bank of Industry. Mines.IO has now raised $17 million so far!
1. Wakanow
Last week, Wakanow pulled off the biggest funding round ever seen in Nigeria. The flight booking company raised $40 million from American private equity company, The Carlyle Group. Interestingly, The Carlyle Group is one of the world’s largest private equity companies.
What a great way to close out the year! PE will continue to be a key driver for M&A and liquidity events Tech Startups in Africa. Carlyle basically provided liquidity to ACA. || Nasdaq-Listed The Carlyle Group Invests In Nigeria’s https://t.co/npQpsyDJw9 https://t.co/cB66tmBOGV
— D.O (@docolumide) December 20, 2018
Prior to the funding though, Wakanow had been in financial disarray as the company had been battered by the recent recession in Nigeria. Hopefully the new funds will help get things back on track for the industry leader.
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