$203.2M was raised by female-led enterprises in Africa in 2022

According to a survey by The Big Deal, a research group that tracks startups on the continent, African firms with female leadership raised $203.2 million in 2022. It is still a sizable sum, but 58% less than what businesses of this type mobilized in 2021.

The report also observes that the decrease in funding raised by these firms in 2022 is largely at odds with the sector’s general trend. However, last year continues to rank among the best in terms of capital fundraising for African businesses in general. Even though venture capital has been reasonably successful on the continent, the poll finds that it has only aided 4% of female entrepreneurs and less than 3% of firms with female founders.

The five regions of Africa’s performance in attracting investments is also highlighted in the report. The largest portion, $1.8 billion, went to Western Africa in 2022, a little 12% decrease from 2021 when investments totaled $2 billion.

According to the report, the Eastern Africa area reached the $1 billion mark for the first time and drew twice as much money in 2018 as it did in 2021. In 2022, the region banked 1.2 billion, up from just about $600 million the year before. Region of Southern Africa saw a 44% decline from $1.1 billion in 2021 to little over $600 million in 2022.

With only $50m raised, Central Africa is still far behind its neighbors. However, this is twice as much as in 2021.