Historically, most African tech startups avoided debt because it was expensive, hard to access, and unattractive for such a high-risk business. That framing no longer fits.
The first quarter of 2026 continued a trend that Condia’s funding tracker first flagged in 2025, pointing to a broader shift in Africa’s startup funding ecosystem. The largest African startup financings in 2025 and early 2026 have been debt rounds for mature, cash-flow-generating companies.
Debt and hybrid instruments accounted for $490M of the quarter’s $705M total. Meanwhile, equity funding fell 39% year-on-year, from $348M in Q1 2025 to $213M in Q1 2026.
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Last updated: May 22, 2026
