Investors and founders were candid about why early-stage capital for African founders has dried up, what African venture capital owes the ecosystem, and where the next wave of growth is actually coming from at the launch of TechCabal Insights’ State of Tech in Africa (SOTIA) H1 2026 report. On Friday, July 17, 2026, TechCabal Insights, a digital economy consultancy, launched the State of Tech in Africa (SOTIA) H1 2026 report in Lagos, with support from sponsor and partner Fido, a fintech that provides instant, unsecured digital loans and financial services.
Joseph Oloyede, an analyst at TechCabal Insights and lead author of the report, opened with the numbers. Since 2019, Africa’s tech ecosystem has raised $21 billion. Funding in H1 2026 grew a modest 1.4% year-on-year, to $1.44 billion, up from $1.42 billion in H1 2025, but the number of deals fell sharply, from 252 to 174.
Debt captured 41% of all funding, while early-stage startups received just $9 million, down from $25 million in H1 2025. Mergers and acquisitions rose 91% year-on-year, and layoffs climbed 236%, with restructuring and, in other instances, AI adoption cited as the leading causes.
Only 7% of the capital raised came from African investors, compared with 60% from international sources. Taken in context, the data shows funding for Africa’s tech ecosystem is no longer growing the industry by creating new startups. Instead, it is allocating more capital into fewer, larger and more mature companies.
