Africa’s tech ecosystem continued to expand in 2025, but it also faced painful corrections as several startups—many of them well-funded or highly visible—were forced to close down. The year exposed the realities of operating in an environment marked by limited infrastructure, funding volatility, and shifting investor sentiment.

The first quarter of 2025 alone saw four startups across Nigeria and East Africa shut down or suspend operations. By the end of the year, about 10 startups had closed.

Fintech saw the highest number of shutdowns in 2025, which aligns with broader ecosystem dynamics. Nigeria alone saw fintech companies grow from 255 in January 2024 to more than 430 in February 2025—a 70% surge in just over a year. With more competition and concentrated investor funding in fintech, failures became more visible.

Of the 10 shutdowns, eight occurred in Nigeria, reinforcing the country’s position as both Africa’s most active and most volatile startup market.

Below is a list of 10 African startups that shut down in 2025, spanning fintech, healthtech, edtech, HRtech, travel, and logistics.

1. Joovlin (Nigeria)

Founded: 2019
Sector: Fintech
Total Disclosed Funding: $100,000
Founders: Kingsley Nwoos, Yusuf Olalere, Lucky Mark

Joovlin built tools to help small suppliers and retailers digitize operations through a single app that enabled inventory management, order tracking, and social-commerce integration. By 2022, it hosted more than 2,000 active vendors and over 6,000 products.

Despite early traction and a $100,000 seed round from MEST Africa, Joovlin struggled to scale its user base or generate consistent revenue. With no further funding and mounting financial pressure, the company shut down in January 2025.

2. Edukoya (Nigeria)

Founded: 2021
Sector: Edtech
Total Disclosed Funding: $3.5 million
Founder: Honey Ogundeyi

Edukoya aimed to transform K–12 learning through live tutoring and curated academic content. Its $3.5 million pre-seed round became one of the continent’s largest early edtech raises. At its peak, the platform supported over 80,000 students, delivered thousands of daily classes, and logged more than 15 million solved questions.

But scaling proved difficult. Limited internet access, device constraints, and low household purchasing power weakened the business model. After several pivots and unsuccessful partnerships, Edukoya closed in February 2025, returning the remaining capital to investors.

3. Bento (Nigeria)

Founded: 2019
Sector: HRtech
Total Disclosed Funding: $2.3 million
Founders: Ebun Okubanjo, Chidozie Okonkwo

Bento Africa sought to streamline payroll and HR across African markets. But by February 2025, the company was facing allegations of unpaid pensions, tax irregularities, unresolved salary disputes, and the collapse of its engineering team.

CEO Ebun Okubanjo stepped down amid internal turmoil, and the board opted for a temporary shutdown to manage outstanding obligations. No timeline has been announced for a potential return.

4. Lipa Later (Kenya)

Founded: 2018
Sector: Fintech
Total Disclosed Funding: $16.6 million
Founders: Eric Muli, Michael Maina

Lipa Later was one of East Africa’s best-known BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) startups, raising $16.6 million and expanding aggressively after a major $12 million round in 2022.

But the company’s financial structure became unsustainable. In March 2025—months after raising KSh1.36 billion ($9.88 million)—it was placed under administration following excessive debt burdens and a failed 2024 capital raise. The acquisition of Sky Garden in 2023 added further financial strain, accelerating the collapse.

5. Medsaf (Nigeria)

Founded: 2016
Sector: Healthtech
Total Disclosed Funding: $7 million
Founder: Vivian Nwakah

Medsaf connected hospitals and pharmacies to safe, quality-assured medications through a digital marketplace, aiming to combat fake drugs in Nigeria’s supply chain. It worked with over 1,000 hospitals and raised more than $7 million from investors, including Y Combinator and Techstars.

However, FX shocks, investor pullouts, a failed acquisition attempt, and outstanding debts ultimately forced the company to shut down in 2025.

6. FanBants (Nigeria)

Founded: 2021
Sector: FanTech / Fantasy Sports
Total Disclosed Funding: $20,000
Founders: Wilfred Ndidi, Fola Folowosele, Ozoemena Chukwu

FanBants created fantasy leagues for AFCON, the NPFL, global tournaments, and even reality TV shows through its “Gist Markets” feature. The platform recorded over 50,000 Android downloads and joined the Techstars Minnesota Twins Accelerator in 2022.

The startup announced its shutdown in 2025 without providing a specific reason.

7. Afristay (South Africa)

Founded: 2006
Sector: Travel
Total Disclosed Funding: $2.2 million
Founders: Oliver Bryant, Ric Meulemans

Afristay, an accommodation marketplace, halted operations in early 2025. Director Rupert Bryant  reported that by the end of 2023, the business had sharply declined, reaching only about 30 monthly bookings and operating with two part-time staff before deciding to close.

8. Lidya (Nigeria)

Founded: 2016
Sector: Fintech
Total Disclosed Funding: $16.45 million
Founders: Tunde Kehinde, Ercin Eksin

Lidya was once a flagship African digital lender, offering fast, collateral-free loans to SMEs. The company claimed to have reviewed over $50 billion in credit applications and disbursed $150 million to 32,000 businesses.

But efforts to expand into Poland and the Czech Republic in 2020 stretched resources. Operational costs surged, and profitability lagged. By 2023, Lidya had exited its European markets. Combined with a harsh funding environment and internal difficulties, the company ultimately shut down in 2025.

9. Heroshe (Nigeria)

Founded: 2019
Sector: E-commerce/Logistics
Total Disclosed Funding: $275,000
Founders: Osinachi Ukomadu, Chichi Ukomadu, Joseph Cobhams

Heroshe built a logistics platform to help Nigerians shop from the US, UK, and China. It served individuals and businesses for several years but began deteriorating in 2024 due to financial constraints.

Customers reported missing packages, communication failures, and unexpected charges. After eight months of turbulence, Heroshe shut down making it one of the Nigerian startups that ceased operations in the first half of 2025.

10. Collect Africa (Nigeria)

Founded: 2021
Sector: Fintech
Total Disclosed Funding: $135,000
Founders: Abraham Ojes, Wale Martins

Collect Africa enabled SMEs to manage payments via transfers, POS, QR codes, links, and direct debits through a unified dashboard. The platform processed more than $4 million in payments for 5,000 businesses.

The company shut down operations by August 31, 2025, as the team shifted focus to a new stablecoin venture, Autospend. The founders say the pivot reflects a larger global opportunity rather than distress within Collect Africa.

Conclusively, the closure of well-known players like Lidya, Lipa Later, and Medsaf, all led by experienced founders, shows a maturing ecosystem where even strong pedigrees cannot shield companies from market realities.

Despite the closures, the broader market showed early signs of stabilisation. African tech shutdowns dropped to six in the first half of 2025, down from nine in the same period in 2024. Layoffs also declined sharply—765 in H1 2025 compared to 1,730 in H1 2024, a 56% drop—suggesting that the period of major market correction may be easing.

At the same time, mergers and acquisitions rose as startups sought consolidation for survival, though many of these deals were driven by necessity rather than high-return exits.

Still, the year’s closures reveal that startups with strong paths to profitability are attracting investment, while early-stage companies or those with heavy operational models struggled to stay afloat.