NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

African startups raised more than $129 million last year, according to a report from Disrupt Africa, a blog on technology and entrepreneurship on the continent. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya were the most popular destinations, with north African countries catching up.

Fundraising for Egyptian startups jumped 105%, according to the report, making the country the fourth most popular tech investment destination on the continent.

There’s been a trend towards investment returning to Egypt and other North African countries having been scared off by years of political turmoil, according to Disrupt Africa. Altogether eight Egyptian startups raised $9.7 million, compared to $4.7 million last year, the largest increase of any country that had more than five startups secure investment for the year.

The relatively early use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for political mobilization was notable during the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia six years ago. But North African startups have not had a prominent profile in Africa’s tech landscape to date.