African Blockchain Funding Plummets by 26.6%: Fintech Sector Reels

African blockchain startups experienced a notable decline in investment during 2025, raising a total of US$90.1 million across 28 deals. This represents a significant 26.6% year-over-year (YoY) decrease in total value from US$122.8 million in 2024, and a 6.7% reduction in deal count from 30 deals, according to a joint report by Swiss VC firm CV VC and South African bank Absa Bank. This contraction contrasts sharply with the global blockchain venture capital market, which expanded by 28.8% YoY in 2025, albeit with a 32.1% reduction in deal count globally.

The shrinking interest in blockchain within Africa is further highlighted by its reduced share of the continent's overall venture funding. In 2025, blockchain accounted for just 5.3% of Africa's total ecosystem funding value, a 2.7 percentage point drop from 8% in the previous year.

When examining blockchain funding by country based on company headquarters, South Africa maintained its leading position in 2025, securing US$17.5 million, which represented 19.4% of all African blockchain funding, across seven transactions (25% of deals). Nigeria followed, raising US$12.4 million across six deals, equating to 13.8% of funding value and 21.4% of the deal count. Kenya contributed US$12.9 million, making up 14.3% of funding value through four transactions (14.3% of deals). Additionally, a significant portion of funding went to entities structured offshore, with US-headquartered companies attracting 37.3% of the total funding value and 10.7% of deals. The UAE contributed 4.4% of value and 7.1% of deals, while the UK accounted for 1.7% of value and 3.6% of deals.

An analysis of operational focus reveals that pan-African ventures garnered the largest share of funding, receiving US$51.5 million across ten deals, representing 57.2% of all funding and 35.7% of deal count. These entities operate across multiple African jurisdictions. Notable pan-African transactions included Kredete's US$22 million early-stage VC round—the largest blockchain deal in 2025—which assists African immigrants with credit building and financial access, and Cedar Money's US$9.9 million seed round, a US-based B2B cross-border payment startup.

Following pan-African ventures, South Africa ranked second operationally, attracting US$19 million across eight deals (21.1% of total funding, 28.6% of deals). A significant transaction here was WhiteRock's US$10 million Initial Coin Offering (ICO). WhiteRock operates as an on-chain brokerage for tokenized securities, bridging traditional finance and blockchain. Nigeria was third with US$12.2 million and five deals (13.5% of total funding, 17.9% of deals), including Hyperbridge's US$5.6 million seed round (a Polkadot interoperability coprocessor) and Carrot's US$4.2 million seed round (a Nigerian digital lending startup).

In terms of sectoral trends, funding was primarily concentrated in application-layer categories with clear revenue paths. Centralized blockchain services led significantly, securing US$61.2 million across 19 deals, accounting for 67.9% of both value and deal count. Decentralized finance (DeFi) followed, with US$20.8 million across five deals (23.1% of value), and infrastructure and developer tools received US$5 million from a single deal (5.5% of value). An example in this space is Jambo, an on-chain mobile network aiming to expand access to DeFi and Web3 applications, particularly in emerging markets.

Globally, the blockchain funding landscape presented a stark contrast. While African funding declined, global blockchain venture funding increased by 28.8% YoY in 2025. North America maintained its dominance, securing 53.1% of total funding and 43.3% of deals. The Middle East emerged as a standout growth region, with its share of global blockchain funding surging from 3.1% in 2024 to 14.9% in 2025, driven by sizable Gulf-based transactions. Europe captured 14.8% of global funding with 19.9% of deal activity, indicating a broader base of smaller transactions, while Asia contributed 10.8% of funding and 18.4% of deals, reflecting steady activity.