Venture capitalists invested more than US$1billion in fintechs building solutions to cross-border payment barriers, continuing the sector’s run as the lead destination of investments in Africa’s startup ecosystem.

Fintechs dealing in monetary transfers and payments received the highest volume in funding, followed by banking auxiliaries, and then credit and lending platforms. Other notable startups that have picked up pace include crypto platforms and asset financiers.

Clean energy startups emerged second-place in the volume of investments last year, representing 20% of the total funding. When broken down, solar energy startups received the greatest share of funding in 2024, followed by tech solutions for irrigation, then electricity, and biodigesters. Startups in this category like d.light, Sun King, and Sun Culture led the pack last year.

Mobility startups – like Moove, Basigo, and Spiro – saw the category ascend to third place last year. Venture capitalists and other investors are seeking to scale up the Africa’s under-explored market for electric vehicles by supporting emerging assembly lines – which are mostly focused on e-bikes – and distribution channels to gain market expansion.

These three sectors represented about 80% of last year’s investment in African startups. Certain sectors, such as AI and biotech startups, remain nascent in Africa despite picking up in advanced economies.

The entire continent raised US$2.2 billion in 2024, which was 25% less than the amount startups raised in 2023. This was largely due to the financial crunch prevalent in the first half of 2024 as many countries globally tried to claw back to macroeconomic stability.