African fintechs smashed fundraising records in 2021

African startups raised between $4.3B and $5.2B in 2021. Between 53% and 62% of that funding went to fintech.

Why should we care?
Africa as a continent contains a wide range of economies and political landscapes, but is often approached as an aggregate. With e-commerce platform Jumia and fintech giant Interswitch attaining unicorn status in 2016 and 2019 respectively, foreign VCs recognized the potential rewards in investing in less familiar territories—but doing so through sectors intimately familiar to them. The dominance of fintech investment represents a kind of bet-hedging, in which investors go all-in on an industry with a demonstrated track record (fintech) across regional regulatory landscapes. Five new unicorns emerged from the continent last year, further suggesting runaway growth in sectors like e-commerce and fintech. With VCs like Tiger Global and Sequoia funding early and growth stages alike, African fintechs may see an influx of interest from a range of investors in the coming months.