This article was originally published on TechCabal Insights and was written by Joseph Oloyede, Analyst at TechCabal Insights.
The first half of 2026 is officially over, and the numbers show that African startups had it good funding-wise. Startups across the continent raised a total of $1.44 billion. This is a slight increase from the $1.42 billion raised during the first half of 2025. Even with a tough global economy, this steady growth is a clear sign that investors still believe heavily in African innovation.
The H1 race
This year is a story of resilience. While the total amount of money raised stayed strong at $1.44 billion, the way deals are happening has completely changed. The biggest story of H1 2026 is that although fewer deals are happening, companies are raising much bigger rounds. We tracked only 146 disclosed deals across the first six months of the year, which is a big drop from the 252 deals we saw in H1 2025.
The momentum really picked up at the start of June. Pan-African electric mobility startup Spiro announced a massive $215 million mega deal on the very first day of the month. This single deal pushed the ecosystem’s total funding over the line, helping 2026 finish the half-year ahead of 2025.
