Where are Africa’s 24 Y Combinator startups three years later?

In March 2022, Y Combinator’s Winter 22 Demo Day featured 24 African startups in a single batch, 18 of them Nigerian.

For the first time, an African country ranked in YC’s global top three by representation, behind only the US and India, beating the previous Africa high of 15 in S21. 

Three years on, the W22 batch is the clearest lens yet for what YC backing actually means for African founders. Nine raised meaningful follow-on rounds or made acquisitions. Eight appears to be still operating. Seven have no recent public signal.

The top 4 performers of the cohort

Chowdeck: The Lagos food delivery startup raised a $2.5M seed in 2024, then a $9M Series A in August 2025 led by Novastar Ventures with YC participating again. It now serves 1.5 million customers, operates in 11 cities across Nigeria and Ghana, runs a 20,000+ rider network, and reached its first profitable month before the Series A. It acquired Mira, a restaurant POS startup, in June 2025.

Remedial Health: It raised a $4.4M seed round in 2022, then a $12M Series A in July 2023, co-led by QED Investors and Ventures Platform, with Y Combinator and Tencent participating. It now operates across 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states, supplying authentic pharmaceutical products to over 5,000 pharmacies and hospitals. The $12M round included $4M in debt to scale inventory financing. The Financial Times named Remedial Health as part of the fastest-growing health technology companies in Africa.

Last updated: June 17, 2026