After a slow January, African startups made a strong showing in February 2026. Forty startups across the continent raised over $272 million last month, through deals of at least $100,000. This figure marks a significant increase compared to January’s $174 million and slightly exceeds the monthly average of $254 million recorded over the past year.

February 2026 officially recorded the third-highest funding total for any February since 2019, with only two higher figures coming in 2022 and 2023, driven by exceptional mega-deals.

The Deals That Made the Difference

However, the distribution of funds reveals a contrasting reality: six startups captured approximately 80% of the total funding raised in February, illustrating how much capital in the African tech sector remains concentrated on large projects.

Among the month’s standout deals:

Spiro (Benin/Kenya) — electric mobility: The Benin-based electric mobility startup secured $57 million in debt financing through two separate transactions.

Breadfast (Egypt) — food e-commerce: The Egyptian online grocery delivery platform raised $50 million in a pre-Series C funding round.

GoCab (Ivory Coast) — urban mobility: The Ivorian ride-hailing startup raised $45 million, a strong signal of growing investor confidence in urban transportation solutions in Francophone Africa.

Solar Africa (South Africa) – Renewable Energy: With $94 million raised to expand its renewable energy infrastructure, Solar Africa stands out as one of the month’s most significant deals, demonstrating investors’ appetite for Africa’s energy transition.

Other notable transactions include Terra Industries in Nigeria adding $22 million to a previously announced funding round, South African education group Enko Education securing $22 million in debt financing, and South African fintech company Lula securing $21 million from FMO, the Dutch development finance institution.

A Shifting Geography of Financing

From a regional perspective, West Africa attracted the largest share of funding with 53% of the total, followed by North Africa with 24% and Southern Africa with 21%. Egypt led the way with $64 million, followed by Benin with $57 million, Ivory Coast with $45 million, and South Africa with $44 million.

This ranking is a game-changer. Ivory Coast’s rise, thanks to the GoCab deal, illustrates a fundamental trend: beyond the four usual major hubs (Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa), secondary markets like Senegal, Ghana, and Ivory Coast are beginning to attract more capital, reflecting a growing diversification of technological infrastructure across the continent.

The major shift: debt supplants equity

One of the most significant signals at the start of 2026 is perhaps structural rather than cyclical. Equity investments accounted for 54% of the capital raised in February, while debt financing represented approximately 45%, demonstrating that startups are increasingly turning to alternative financing structures in a context where venture capital remains cautious.

This trend is part of a deeper shift. A comparison between January-February 2025 and the same period in 2026 reveals a major structural change: equity investments fell from 76% of the total to just 43%, while debt financing surged by 165%, from $104 million to nearly $278 million.

This trend is particularly evident in climate tech: startups like Solar Africa and Spiro, whose business models are highly capital-intensive in terms of infrastructure, are using debt to deploy their physical assets—solar panels, electric bikes—without excessively diluting their equity.

American investors withdraw, African players rise

The investment ecosystem in Africa is changing. The number of American investors active in African startup deals fell by approximately 53% between the first two periods of 2025 and 2026. The North American investors still present in 2026 are primarily government or impact-oriented institutions, such as the IFC and the US DFC, rather than traditional venture capital funds.

Conversely, African investors accounted for a new record of 45% of total funds raised in 2025, compared to an average of 23% between 2022 and 2024, with African development finance companies and institutions leading the way.

This rebalancing is good news for the long-term resilience of the ecosystem.

2026: Heading towards a record year?

The initial figures for the year offer reasons for optimism. The first two months of 2026 have already surpassed the pace of early 2025, with a total of $575 million raised, a 26.5% increase.

This performance continues a recovery that began in 2025. African startups raised $3.1 billion in 2025, a 41% increase compared to 2024, ending two years of stagnation linked to global monetary tightening.

If investor interest in climate technologies, mobility, and digital commerce remains strong, 2026 could offer the most balanced and diversified funding landscape ever seen in the history of African startups.

What these figures really tell us

Behind the $272 million raised in February, several lessons emerge:

1. Green Africa attracts capital

Electric mobility and renewable energy dominated the month’s deals, signaling that Africa is becoming a strategic battleground for the global climate transition.

2. Francophone Africa steps into the spotlight

With GoCab in Ivory Coast and significant funding rounds in Morocco, Senegal, and Togo, Francophone markets are confirming their growing strength.

3. Market maturity takes hold

The increasing use of debt reflects less a weakness than a sophistication: African startups now have access to more diversified financial instruments.

4. Dependence on Western venture capital diminishes

This is perhaps the most encouraging sign: the African ecosystem is learning to finance itself from within.