1 in every 10 Millionaire West African Startup (MWAS) founder is female
Founders of Millionaire West African Startups (MWAS) were predominantly male-dominated, as 90.2% of MWAS founders are male. Get the West African Startup Decade Report to learn more.
AI startups are growing in the innovation race in 2024, with ten companies from Forbes' AI 50 list collectively securing $29.5b in funding. OpenAI dominates the landscape with an impressive $11.3b, surpassing all other startups. Following OpenAI is Anthropic, which raised $7.7 billion, signalling significant investor confidence in companies driving large-scale AI advancements. These two companies alone account for over half of the total funding of all Forbes AI 50 firms.
Databricks, a name synonymous with data infrastructure, comes in third with $4 billion in funding, emphasising the critical need for scalable data management systems in the age of AI. Meanwhile, Anduril, a defence technology innovator, secured $2.8 billion, showcasing how AI also shapes defence and national security sectors. Notably, the funding sharply drops after these four, with other companies raising less than $800m
Note: Forbes’ AI 50, in partnership with Sequoia and Meritech Capital, highlights the top private startups advancing AI with the most promising business applications.
In the past five years, Nigerian Fintech startups have received the most funding in the startup space, with over $1.01b raised in 2021, the highest in 14 years. Funding for the sector has since reduced following the raise in 2021.
Moove Africa's total disclosed funding as of March 19, 2024, comprises 41.6% debt financing, 22.5% Series B, 19.8% Series A, 14.9% private equity, and 1.2% Seed round.
In its second funding disclosure in 2024, Moove Africa has raised $100 million in a Series B round. The startup has disclosed funding at least twice yearly since 2021 and six times in 2022. The total disclosed funding now totals $444M.
