Top 10 investors still backing African startups despite funding slowdown

Africa’s startup funding landscape has contracted since the 2020–2022 boom, but a concentrated group of investors continued to back founders across the continent. An analysis of 2019–2026 activity shows 9,298 investments deployed by 2,589 investors, with the top 10 most active contributors participating in 1,226 deals — 13.19% of the total. African-based investors numbered 699 and supported 3,217 deals, representing 34.59% of all deals, while European development institutions accounted for 2,060 deals across 525 investors.

"The accelerator remains one of Middle East most influential startup investors, focusing primarily on seed-stage companies," reads a description of Flat6Labs, which the analysis credits with participating in 100 startup investments since 2019 and supporting more than 10,000 founders across the Africa, Levant, and GCC regions.

The rankings highlight a diverse mix of accelerators, venture capital funds, development finance institutions, foundations and corporate-backed platforms still active in African innovation. Mauritius-based Launch Africa leads the pack with participation in nearly 200 startup deals since 2019. Germany’s development finance institution DEG ranks second with 162 deals. U.S.-based accelerators and investor networks also feature prominently: Techstars is third with 152 deals and Google for Startups Black Founders Fund recorded 142 deals.

• Y Combinator: 133 deals, with busiest years in 2021 (37) and 2022 (43).
• Flat6Labs: 100 deals; launched in Cairo in 2011 and operating across 15 countries.
• LoftyInc Capital Management: 96 deals; the firm says it has invested in more than 130 "afropreneurs."
• 54 Collective (formerly Founders Factory Africa): 87 deals, including a strong 24-deal year in 2024.
• 500 Global: 79 deals, active across 2020–2022 with peaks including 22 deals in 2022.
• Future Africa: 77 deals, with heavy activity in 2021 (27 deals) and 2022 (38 deals).

The data underscores the continuing significance of global accelerator networks in channeling talent and capital to the continent. Techstars — which the analysis notes has supported more than 11,000 founders globally and helped build a portfolio with over $300 billion in combined market value — ramped up activity from two deals in 2019 to 58 in 2023 before slowing to 20 in 2024 and three in 2025. Google for Startups Black Founders Fund concentrated support in 2021 and 2022 (53 and 59 deals respectively) and provided equity-free grants, cloud credits and mentorship to underrepresented founders.

Regional dynamics are also shifting. Nigeria is the only African country with multiple firms in the top 10 — LoftyInc and Future Africa — highlighting the country’s central role in early-stage deal flow. Overall, local investors accounted for more than a third of deals, signaling growing domestic capacity to nurture startups from ideation through growth stages.

Outlook: while global macro pressures such as higher interest rates and tighter liquidity have slowed overall venture activity, the persistence of a core group of accelerators, DFIs and homegrown investors suggests a resilient backbone for African entrepreneurship. Continued participation by institutions like DEG and networked accelerators may prove decisive in sustaining seed-stage pipelines and helping promising fintech, healthtech, agritech, climate-tech and e-commerce startups bridge a more selective funding environment.