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Nigerian startups raised $635 million in the first nine months of 2026, more than doubling the amount secured during the same period in 2025, as major funding rounds by mobility financing company Moove and fintech firm Flutterwave helped restore Nigeria’s position as Africa’s leading destination for startup investment.
Data from Africa: The Big Deal, an African startup funding tracker, showed that Nigerian ventures raised 2.6 times the $247 million recorded between January and September 2025. The performance represents Nigeria’s strongest showing for the first nine months of a year since 2022, putting the country ahead of other major African startup markets.
The latest figures also position Nigeria to lead Africa in annual startup funding for the first time since 2022, provided the momentum continues through the final quarter of the year.
Moove and Flutterwave lead Nigeria’s biggest funding rounds
Major transactions accounted for a substantial share of the capital raised by Nigerian startups during the period.
Moove secured $250 million, while Flutterwave raised $100 million. E-commerce platform Jumia attracted $50 million, and cryptocurrency infrastructure company Yellow Card secured $40 million.
Together, the four companies raised $440 million, representing approximately 69 per cent of Nigeria’s total startup funding for the nine-month period.
The concentration of investment among a handful of major ventures highlights the influence that large funding rounds can have on national startup rankings. While these transactions helped drive Nigeria’s recovery, the wider funding figures also point to activity across a broader group of companies.
Nigeria recorded the highest number of startups securing at least $100,000 across Africa during the period. A total of 77 Nigerian ventures met the threshold, up from 70 in the corresponding period of 2025, representing an increase of approximately 10 per cent.
Excluding pan-African ventures, Nigeria accounted for 37 per cent of the funding raised by startups operating in individual African countries, its highest share since 2021, according to the tracker.
Nigeria regains ground after years behind Kenya
The funding rebound marks a recovery after several years in which Nigeria trailed Kenya in Africa’s startup investment rankings.
In 2023, Nigerian startups raised approximately $410 million for the full year, less than half the amounts recorded in 2021 and 2022. Kenya, meanwhile, attracted about $800 million.
Nigeria remained behind Kenya in 2024, securing around $400 million despite major funding transactions involving Moove and Moniepoint. The trend continued in 2025, when Nigerian startups raised $442.8 million for the year.
With $635 million already secured between January and September 2026, Nigeria has surpassed its entire 2025 funding total before the end of the third quarter.
The performance strengthens the country’s position in Africa’s startup investment landscape and suggests renewed investor activity in its technology and innovation ecosystem. However, the full-year ranking will depend on funding activity across the continent during the remaining months of 2026.
Logistics and transport overtake fintech in African startup funding
Nigeria’s recovery coincides with a broader shift in investment priorities across Africa, where logistics and transport emerged as the largest startup funding category by value during the first nine months of 2026.
According to Africa: The Big Deal, logistics and transport ventures raised $780 million between January and September, accounting for 36 per cent of total startup funding across the continent.
Fintech startups attracted $760 million, representing 35 per cent of the total. Although the difference between the two sectors was relatively narrow, the figures marked a change from the funding patterns that have traditionally placed fintech at the forefront of African startup investment.
The logistics and transport sector’s 36 per cent share was a record for the first nine months of a year. It represented a sharp increase from seven per cent during the corresponding period of 2025, surpassing the previous first-nine-months high of 17 per cent recorded in 2019.
The shift highlights the growing role of mobility, transportation and logistics businesses in attracting capital across the continent.
Spiro and Moove account for most transport funding
Two major funding rounds were central to the logistics and transport sector’s performance.
Electric mobility company Spiro raised $345 million, while Moove secured $250 million. Together, the companies attracted $595 million, accounting for approximately 76 per cent of the $780 million raised by logistics and transport startups during the period.
Their combined contribution illustrates how large transactions can influence sector-wide investment trends and shift the distribution of funding across Africa’s startup ecosystem.
The figures also underline the importance of distinguishing between the number of companies attracting investment and the total value of capital raised. While logistics and transport led by funding value, fintech remained ahead in the number of funded ventures.
A total of 80 fintech startups secured at least $100,000 between January and September 2026, making the sector the leader by deal participation under the tracker’s threshold.
This suggests that fintech continued to attract investment across a wider pool of ventures even as large mobility transactions pushed logistics and transport ahead in total funding value.
Moove’s funding round contrasts with its planned Nigeria exit
Moove’s contribution to Nigeria’s startup funding rebound comes amid its announcement earlier in October that it planned to exit the Nigerian market.
The development highlights the distinction between a company’s ability to raise capital and its subsequent decisions about where to operate. A large funding round does not necessarily mean that a business will expand or maintain operations in every market where it has a presence.
For Nigeria’s startup ecosystem, Moove’s $250 million raise remains a significant contributor to the country’s funding total, even as its planned market exit introduces a more complex dimension to the investment story.
The situation also illustrates why startup funding figures should be considered alongside company-level developments and operating decisions when assessing the broader health of the technology ecosystem.
Nigeria’s startup funding outlook strengthens
Nigeria’s $635 million funding total signals a significant improvement in its startup investment performance after several years of trailing Kenya. Major transactions involving Moove, Flutterwave, Jumia and Yellow Card drove much of the rebound, while the number of Nigerian ventures securing at least $100,000 also increased.
At the continental level, the rise of logistics and transport reflects a changing distribution of capital, with large electric mobility and mobility financing deals contributing to the sector’s lead over fintech by value.
Nigeria has already exceeded its full-year 2025 funding total, strengthening its prospects of reclaiming the top position in Africa’s annual startup funding rankings. Whether it finishes 2026 as the continent’s leading destination for startup investment will depend on funding activity in the final quarter and how competing markets perform over the same period.
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