(Ecofin Agency) – Start-ups in this zone captured less than $600 million in 2022, compared to $1.1 billion in 2021. This represents a 46% drop year-on-year. This regional underperformance is closely linked to that of South Africa, the region’s locomotive.
Equity financing raised by all start-ups in Southern Africa has almost halved between 2021 and 2022. These funds, which reached $1.1 billion in 2021, have fallen by 46%, less of $600 million in 2022. Southern Africa has even become the only region on the continent where the number of transactions over $100,000 fell in 2022, while all other regions saw double-digit growth in this area “, worries the Africa the Big Deal platform, in a detailed analysis on the financing of start-ups in southern Africa.
That ” sous-performance “start-ups from southern Africa” is very closely linked to that of South Africa “, indicate the analysts of the platform of information on the transactions of the African start-ups. South Africa, which alone accounted for 98% of total funds raised in Southern Africa in 2021, fell slightly in 2022, capturing 95% of total funds invested in the region.
Apart from South Africa, other Southern African economies also raised less in 2022. Thus, Namibia and Zambia, which occupy the second and third places respectively in the region, “ attracted 40 times less funds each in 2022 ».
The $15 million mobilized in Namibia comes from a single operation, namely the fundraising operated by the start-up Jabu. The $12 million raised in Zambia comes from the only operation carried out by Union54. In Namibia as in Zambia, the two seed rounds of companies Union54 and Jabu were led by the investment firm Tiger Global.
Zimbabwe recorded three deals over $100,000 in 2022, up from 6 in 2021. Botswana and Mozambique each recorded just one deal. Four countries in the region had no transactions over $100,000 in 2022.
With less than $600 million raised in 2022, Southern Africa now ranks fourth on the continent in terms of fundraising, far behind West, East and North Africa. In 2021, she was ranked second. Its share of continental funding has fallen from 23% in 2021 to 12% in 2022.
Chamberline MOKO
