Start-ups Raise $460M in Q1 2025, with Fintech Leading Funding and Gender Disparity Persisting

As expected, the performance in March significantly impacted the overall numbers. In total, start-ups raised $460m in Q1 through $100k+ deals (excluding exits), which is only slightly below the Q1 2024 total of $486m, reflecting a 5% YoY decrease. However, it’s important to note that Q1 2024 itself was not a particularly strong quarter. In fact, Q1 2025 marks the second-lowest quarter for start-up funding since late 2020. Looking at the number of start-ups that raised at least $1m in Q1, there is a more positive outlook. With 52 such start-ups, this figure aligns with the 2023-2024 average.

As expected, 83% of the funding went to the Big Four countries, with Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa each attracting approximately $100m in funding (24%, 24%, and 22% of the total, respectively). Egypt followed with $61m (14%). Togo rounded out the top five, bolstered by Gozem’s $30m Series B funding round. Nearly half of the funding (46%) was raised by fintech start-ups ($53m for LemFi, $38m for Naked, etc.), with energy (18%) and logistics & transportation (10%) following in terms of sectoral breakdown.

Female CEOs secured just over 2% of the total funding ($10m), with the largest round being a $6.2m grant awarded to South African biotech company African Biologics. If grants are excluded, the proportion of funding raised by female CEOs in Q1 2025 drops to 0.7%. Ultimately, 79% of the funding went to either solo male founders (11%) or male-only founding teams (67%). Diverse founding teams received 20% of the total, which, while not ideal, is relatively strong compared to previous quarters. A mere 1% was allocated to solo female founders or female-only founding teams.

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