Economy
Nigeria Got Chunk of $4.7bn Raised by African Startups in 2021—Report
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria led the countries that received much of the $4.7 billion funding that African startups amassed last year, indicating further growth for the sector, according to a new report by Briter Intelligence.
The amount raised in 2021 was twice as much as the total volume that was raised by African startups in 2020 and there was also a 25 per cent increase in the total number of deals last year compared to the number of deals that were announced in 2020.
Nigeria was followed by South Africa, Kenya and Egypt in terms of destination of funds.
The report explained that some of the funding deals, at over 240, were estimated to reach $4.9 billion in the year under consideration.
According to the Director of Briter Bridges, Mr Dario Giuliani, while commenting on the report, the huge capital raised last year was indicative of Africa’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination.
“Approaching $5 billion in known funding in 2021, especially after nearly twenty-four months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, is a clear sign that Africa is undergoing tangible changes, and the increasing presence of local exits and returns is shaping the continent’s attractiveness,” he said.
Fintech startups received as much as 62 per cent of the funds, with the rest going to other sectors such as health and biotech (8 per cent), logistics (7 per cent), education (5 per cent), cleantech (5 per cent), agriculture (4 per cent), eCommerce (3 per cent), mobility (3 per cent), data & analytics (2 per cent) and others.
The top 20 deals of 2021 captured 65 per cent of the total funding volume. Some of the startups that raised the most funds in 2021 raised $100 million and above during single funding rounds and these include Opay, Chipper Cash, ZEPZ, Tradedepot, Zipline, JUMO, Andela, TALA, TymeBank, Flutterwave, MFS Africa, among others
By destination, the vast majority of the investments came from the United States of America (62.5 per cent), followed by the United Kingdom (7.5 per cent) while others accounted for others.
The highest investors who funded the top 20 deals included Endeavour Catalyst, One Way Ventures, CDC Investment Works, Partech, Ribbit Capital, deci.ens and AFRICINVEST.
Others included SoftBank, Accel, Avenir, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Apis Partners, and AllanGray.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 1.61 per cent fall was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Tuesday, April 7, on the back of selling pressure.
The profit-taking chopped off N38.87 from the market capitalisation of the trading platform, leaving it at N2.378 trillion compared with the N2.417 trillion it ended last Thursday, when the bourse last witnessed trading activity.
Similarly, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 22.57 points to close the session at 3,975.34 points, in contrast to the preceding session’s 4,040.30 points.
The market breadth index was at equilibrium yesterday after recording three price gainers and three price losers, led by Okitipupa Plc, which depleted by N15.00 to N260.00 per share from N275.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dipped by N6.31 to N71.69 per unit from N78.00 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by N1.00 to N92.00 per share from N93.00 per share.
Conversely, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc appreciated by 20 Kobo to N2.28 per unit from N2.08 per unit, UBN Property Plc also improved by 20 Kobo to N2.18 per share from N1.98 per share, and Impresit Bakalori Plc gained 19 Kobo to sell at N2.20 per unit versus N2.01 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities dipped by 99.7 per cent to 797,264 units from 260.2 million units, the value of securities went down by 83.1 per cent to N26.1 million from N154.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 28.3 per cent to 33 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by CSCS Plc with 57.1 million units sold for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units valued at N1.8 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira suffered a decline of N5.87 or 0.43 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, April 7, to trade at N1,386.66/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,380.79/$1.
It was the first trading day in the local currency market after it closed last Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
In the same market window, the Nigerian Naira also depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N13.71 to sell for N1,838.57/£1 versus N1,824.86/£1, and lost N13.69 on the Euro to quote at N1,605.61/€1 versus N1,591.92/€1.
In the black market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against the Dollar yesterday to remain unchanged at N1,4010/$1.
Despite the recent movement, analysts remain optimistic about the outlook of the currency in 2026, citing ongoing reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said Naira stability in the first quarter of the year boosted business confidence, noting that the currency remains relatively stable during the period, trading within the N1,340 to N1,430 per Dollar band.
It attributed the stability to improved foreign exchange liquidity, stronger oil earnings, and rising external reserves, which had climbed above 50 billion dollars.
In the cryptocurrency market, prices rose after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week cease-fire with Iran, abruptly reversing days of bearish positioning.
The spike triggered roughly $595 million in crypto liquidations, with short positions making up about $427 million, marking the most aggressive short squeeze since early March. Short positions occur when investors profit from a decline in the price of an asset, so when prices rise, losses occur for the shorts.
Cardano (ADA) rose by 8.3 per cent to $0.2629, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 7.3 per cent to $2,249.69, Solana (SOL) added 6.6 per cent to sell for $84.67, Ripple (XRP) jumped 5.8 per cent to $1.38, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $0.0949, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 5.0 per cent to $71,897.41, Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 3.3 per cent to $616.35, and TRON (TRX) gained 0.1 per cent to trade at $0.3160, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after the two-day break for Easter ended on a positive note, with a 0.16 per cent rise on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The local stock exchange last opened its doors to investors last Thursday, and at the resumption of trading activities yesterday, market participants showed enthusiasm, mopping up shares in the banking ecosystem, and rescuing the bourse from the bears.
This returned Customs Street to the green territory, with the All-Share Index (ASI) growing by 324.21 points to 202,023.10 points from 201,698.89 points, and the market capitalisation up by N209 billion to N130.015 trillion from N129.806 trillion.
The expansion experienced during the session was inspired by three sectors, with the banking index up by 1.46 per cent, the energy space up by 0.12 per cent, and the consumer goods counter up by 0.10 per cent. But the insurance sector lost 1.37 per cent, and the industrial goods sector depreciated by 0.31 per cent.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was bearish on Tuesday after a negative market breadth index caused by 25 price gainers and 36 price losers.
Ellah Lakes slumped by 10.00 per cent to N10.80, DAAR Communications gave up 9.95 per cent to trade at N1.72, Chams decreased by 9.87 per cent to N3.38, John Holt lost 9.71 per cent to finish at N13.95, and Sunu Assurances slipped by 9.68 per cent to N4.20.
On the flip side, Trans Nationwide Express gained 9.86 per cent to quote at N3.12, Omatek appreciated by 9.76 per cent to N2.25, Cadbury Nigeria improved by 9.53 per cent to N75.25, First Holdco rose by 9.10 per cent to N54.55, and Fortis Global Insurance chalked up 6.50 per cent to close at N1.31.
Trading data revealed that activity level improved during the session, with the trading volume up by 114.29 per cent to 1.2 billion shares from 560.0 million shares, the trading value surged by 108.81 per cent to N40.3 billion from N19.3 billion, and the number of deals soared by 57.03 per cent to 78,006 deals from 49,676 deals.
Wema Bank transacted 282.6 million equities valued at N7.3 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 125.2 million stocks worth N3.3 billion, VFD Group traded 106.8 million shares for N1.1 billion, First Holdco sold 63.0 million equities worth N3.2 billion, and GTCO exchanged 56.6 million shares valued at N7.1 billion.
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