Tech startups in Kenya received more money from investors jostling for a share of the African startup ecosystem in the first half of 2024, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal.

Kenya’s rise to the top was partly attributed to a $51 million funding round secured by M-Kopa, a clean energy startup, bringing the country’s total funding to $244 million.

The report’s breakdown revealed that Nigeria took second place with $172 million, followed by Egypt with $101 million, and South Africa with $85 million.

While the “big four” – Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya – continued to attract the lion’s share of funding (79 percent), their dominance appears to have declined compared to H1’23 (92 percent).

The report further disclosed that start-ups in Africa have raised $780 million in H1 2024, a 57 percent decline compared to H1 2023.

The data insight fir said, “Two-thirds of this funding was in the form of equity, and a third was debt. As for 2023, this is a much higher share of debt than what we’d been seeing in the past (17 percent on average since 2019).”

In terms of sectors that attracted the most funding during the period. The report said transport and logistics accounted for (28 percent), with two of the three largest deals announced in H1 (Moove and Spiro).

“While Fintech came only second in amount raised, it stayed in the lead in terms of number of start-ups raising $1 million or more during the period,” it added.