Here are Africa’s biggest startups based on valuation

Last year, funding into African startups edged past $2 billion, returning to pre-pandemic levels and presenting a mixed bag as expected. Signs suggest 2025 will follow the cautious trends of the past two years. A sharp decline in mega-deals, mirroring global venture capital tightening since the boom of 2020-2021, pushed local and international investors to prioritize sustainable business models and clear paths to profitability. This shift spelled trouble for well-funded startups that fell short of these criteria, leading to high-profile closures, including mobile commerce platform Copia and agri-focused data analytics firm Gro Intelligence. Notably, both startups had raised over $100 million in venture funding, with Gro Intelligence reaching a valuation of $850 million at its last priced round. While startup failures in Africa were once largely confined to pre-seed and Series A stages, these closures, including that of Ghanaian fintech Dash and Nigerian biotech 54gene in 2023, signa ... Read full article.