Startup funding in Africa has more than doubled in the first half of 2022 compared to last year’s period. Although the continent has not recorded any new tech unicorns as of today, tech funding grew to $3.14 billion in the first six months of 2022 despite surging inflation and economic meltdowns. This reflects investors’ optimism about the potential of Africa’s digital economy.

In 2021, Africa’s tech startups raised about $4.3 billion in funding, an all-time high. Experts forecast funding to reach above $5 billion by the end of the year.

Market roundup

Below is the Weekly Economic roundup from Ventures Africa for the week ending the 2nd of September 2022. This economic index gives you a glimpse into recent activities in the African economy and price changes that could affect it.

Stock markets 

Here is how stocks performed in key African markets (Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya) at the end of the week ending Friday, 2nd of September 2022:

• Nigeria

The NGX All-Share Index rose by +0.31 per cent (+154.66 ) to close the week at 50,045.83  basis points, compared to the 49,682.15 basis points recorded the previous week. 

 Top 5 gainers

FCMB Group – +9.06%

Stanbic IBTC Holdings   – +6.45%

E-Tranzact International  – +6.00%

Transcorp – +4.76%

NPF Microfinance Bank – +4.52%

Top 5 Decliners

McNichols  – -9.46%

R T Briscoe – -8.57%

Chams – -7.14%

Honeywell Flour Mill – -4.53%

UACN Property Development – -2.86%

• Egypt

The EGX 30  Index slumped by -0.62% (-61.99) to close the week at 9,936.87  basis points, on Thursday 1st of September, compared to the 10,287.27 basis points recorded the previous week. 

Top 5 gainers

Odin For Investment & Development – +10.05% 

Egyptian Modern Education Systems  – +6.67%

Misr Duty-Free Shops – +5.97%

Belton Financial Holding – +5.54%

Orascom Financial Holdings  – +4.76%

Top 5 Decliners

Al Arafa For Investment And Consultancies – -18.18%

Sharm Dreams Co. For Tourism Investment – -7.83%

Ismailia Misr Poultry – -6.25%

El Shams Housing & Urbanization – -6.01%

Misr Fertilizers Production Company – MOPCO  – -5.22%

• South Africa

The JSE All Share Index closed the week at  67,378.31 (+1,353.51) basis points, a slump compared to the 70,173.13 basis points recorded the previous week. 

Top 5 gainers

Randgold & Expl Co Ltd – +20.59%

enX Group Ltd – +18.52%

Brikor Ltd – +13.33%

Jubilee Metals Group Plc – +11.06%

Motus Holdings Ltd – +10.10%

Top 5 Decliners

African Dawn Capital Ltd – -17.65%

Astoria Investment Ltd – -16.67%

Conduit Capital Ltd – -12.50%

Bowler Metcalf Ltd – -7.14%

Adcorp Holdings Ltd – -6.93%

• Kenya

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index grew by +0.47 per cent (+0.65 ) basis points to 141.05 to close the week, compared to the 137.91 basis points recorded the previous week. 

Top 5 gainers

EA Portland Cement – +9.09%

EAAGADS – +5.47% 

Carbacid Investments – +3.33% 

Centum Investment – +3.26% 

Express Kenya – +2.70%

Top 5 Decliners

Sameer Africa – -6.29% 

B.O.C Kenya – -5.60% 

Diamond Trust Bank Kenya – -3.85% 

TPS Eastern Africa – -3.24%

Jubilee Holdings – -3.13%

Currency markets 

Here is how Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa’s currencies performed against the US Dollar at the official markets.

• The Nigerian naira started the week at 426.25 NGN/$1  to closed at 423.42 NGN/$1.
• The Egyptian pound started the week at 19.2108 EGP/$1 and closed at 19.2288 EGP/$1.
• The South African Rand started the week at 16.8599 ZAR/$1 and closed at 17.2981  ZAR/$1.
• The Kenyan shilling started the week at 120.05 KES/$1 and closed at 120.30 KES/$1.

Oil prices 

• Brent oil started closed Friday 2nd September at $93.28 per barrel, compared to $100.99 recorded the previous week.

• The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed the week at $86.87 per barrel compared to $93.06 per barrel last week.

Crypto markets 

According to data from Coinmarketcap, the global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $973.43B as of 5 pm on Sunday 4th of September- a 0.28 per cent decrease over the previous day. Here is how the top three cryptocurrencies performed:

• Bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.36 per cent to trade at $19,749.74.
• Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.53 per cent to trade at $1,557.83.
• Binance coin (BNB) gained 0.03 per cent trade at $279. $1.00.

Tech funding

• Grey, a Nigeria-based fintech raises $2 million to simplify cross-border payments across Africa.
• Kenya’s Pezesha raises an $11 million pre-Series A round to grow an embedded finance platform.
• Sharwa, an Egyptian mobile commerce startup raises a $2 million seed round.
• SubsBase, an Egyptian subscription management platform raises a $2.4 million seed round.
• KarmSolar, an Egyptian energy startup announces a new minority stake round.
• Anchor, Nigeria’s banking-as-a-service startup raises a $1 million pre-seed round.

From the Expert

According to Ikenna Onyejiaka, Vice President of Technology at Treepz Global- a Nigeria-based ride-hailing company with a presence in Ghana and Uganda, Africa’s tech ecosystem is resilient despite regulatory and policy odds. “On Tech funding in Africa, it shows how innovative and resilient we young Africans are. In my opinion, many odds – regulations and policies- are stacked against us. But we still manage to pull through most times.”