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Sunday, 2 February 2020

Egypt leapfrogs South Africa, Nigeria in startup funding transactions

Egypt leapfrogs South Africa, Nigeria in startup investments: Total startup funding in Egypt in 2019 rose 215% y-o-y to hit USD 211 mn, according to Partech Africa’s 2019 report (pdf). Egyptian startups attracted the third-highest number of investments in Africa in terms of volume and value. Egypt surpassed South Africa in total fundraising for the first time and also edged out Nigeria by total number of investments. Throughout the year, 12 startups raised funding rounds worth USD 5 mn or more, the report says.

Fintech once again took the cake for the most attractive sector for investment, accounting for 54.5% of total investments worth a combined USD 1.1 bn, according to the report. Investments in online and mobile consumer services, including health technology, education technology, and e-commerce grew to account for 29.3% of total startup funding in the continent last year.

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