African start-ups secure $174m in January as deal count hits record low

African start-ups raised a combined $174m in January 2026 from deals of $100,000 and above, spanning equity, debt and grants, even as the number of announced transactions fell to its lowest level on record.

The data was published by Africa: The Big Deal, a platform that tracks funding activity across the continent’s start-up ecosystem.

While the January total is well below the $276m raised in the same month in 2025 and under the 12-month monthly average of $263m, it still represents an improvement on January 2023 ($106m) and January 2024 ($85m).

More striking, however, was the sharp contraction in deal volume. Only 26 start-ups announced funding rounds of at least $100,000 during the month. According to the report, this is just over half of the average monthly tally recorded over the past year and marks the lowest number of such deals since at least 2020.

Commenting on the month-on-month decline from December, Max Giacomelli, author of the report, noted that slower starts to the year have been a recurring pattern in 2023, 2024 and 2025. He stressed that a weak January does not automatically point to a sustained downturn in the funding environment.

Among the month’s largest raises was Nigerian mobility financing start-up MAX, which secured $24m through a combination of equity and asset-backed debt. The transaction placed MAX among January’s top fundraisers and underlined continued investor interest in asset-backed mobility and transport finance models across Africa.

Egyptian fintech valU led the continent overall after raising a $64m debt facility from the National Bank. In addition, four companies closed equity rounds of more than $10m: Egypt’s NowPay ($20m), Morocco’s Yakeey ($15m Series A), defence-focused Terra Industries ($12m), and Ivorian fintech Cauridor.

By sector, fintech continued to dominate large funding rounds, while mobility, proptech and defence also attracted meaningful investor capital.

Although excluded from the funding totals, January also recorded notable exit activity. Flutterwave acquired Nigerian fintech infrastructure provider Mono in an all-stock deal valued at about $30m, signalling further consolidation in the payments and API infrastructure space. Tech talent platform Savannah was acquired by Commit, while Izili Group completed its takeover of off-grid solar company Qotto.

Overall, the combination of shrinking deal flow and ongoing mergers points to a maturing start-up funding landscape, where capital is increasingly concentrated in more established players and strategic consolidation is reshaping key segments.

While January’s figures may reflect seasonal moderation rather than a structural slowdown, the historically low number of funded start-ups could signal a more challenging capital-raising environment ahead, particularly for early-stage ventures seeking their first institutional backing.