Francophone African companies attracted $1.8 billion in private capital in 2021, the highest amount in the past 12 years
Key takeaways:
Francophone Africa attracted $1.8 billion in private capital in 2021, about 9x the previous year (2020).
That same year saw 34 deals, which is quite high when compared to some other years, indicating strong investor confidence.
In 2024, deal value amounted to just $0.1 billion, and deal volume to 19, pointing to a significant cooling in activity.
Between 2012 and 2015, the region saw low deal values, with both 2014 and 2015 recording just $0.01 billion in investments.
A notable spike occurred in 2017 with $0.7 billion invested across 17 deals, marking the first major surge before 2021's breakout.
Deal counts haven’t always aligned with capital volume. For instance, 2023 had 42 deals but only $0.4B, suggesting a trend of smaller-sized investments.
Private capital investment in Francophone Africa has experienced significant highs and lows over the past 12 years, with 2021 standing out as a landmark year. That year alone saw a record-breaking $1.8 billion in deal value, the highest recorded in the period. This is more than thrice the amount invested in most of the other years.
The year 2021 also had 34 deals in total, though not the highest number of deals, but still significant when compared to some other years. The year 2022 saw the highest number of deals (56) but a lower amount of deal value ($0.5B), signifying that 2021 had several deals with huge investments.
The consumer staples sector attracted the highest private capital volume with 69 deals.
The financial sector shows strong traction, especially as digital finance and fintechs continue to open access to banking services in underserved markets.
Fifty-five deals in the consumer discretionary category suggest investors are interested in rising middle-class consumption, retail, and lifestyle-driven spending patterns.
At 50 deals, industrials, including manufacturing and infrastructure, remain a backbone for private capital.
Healthcare (24 deals) and utilities (37 deals) reflect increasing investor focus on sectors with long-term impact and scalable public value.
With $1.2B in deal value (25%), Côte d’Ivoire stands far ahead, signalling strong investor confidence.
At $697M (14.5%), Senegal is proving itself as a rising investment star.
Despite being a small economy, Rwanda drew $166M (3.5%).
DR Congo attracted $143M (3.0%), a modest share relative to its size.
Twenty-four Francophone African countries collectively received 47.4% ($2.3B) of the deal value, suggesting huge untapped or underserved markets across Francophone Africa.
Kenya is the absolute leader in startup funding, with $3.3 billion raised in the past six years.
The rest of East Africa is way behind, with Tanzania ($286M), Uganda ($183M), and Rwanda ($91M) being the next in line. But collectively, they don’t even match 20% of the funding Kenya received.
The total funding raised across East Africa from 2019 to 2024 is $3.94 billion, which means Kenyan startups alone secured more than 8 out of every 10 dollars invested in the region.
Investor confidence is highly concentrated in Kenya, largely due to its well-developed venture capital ecosystem, startup accelerators, and government support for innovation.
Kenya dominates East Africa’s startup funding, securing over 83% of all funds raised between 2019 and 2024 — a clear indication of its position as the region’s startup capital.
Kenya’s startup funding share has remained consistently above 80% since 2020.
2023 and 2024 saw Kenya secure nearly 89% of all funds, marking its strongest position.
Other East African countries combined have not received more than 30% of the funding in any year since 2019.
The lowest share of funding Kenya secured was in 2019 (69.81%).
