36%: Africa saw a surge of indigenous investors between January & April 2026

African investors are taking the lead in venture funding across the continent in 2026. According to data by Africa the Big Deal, 59 of 162 investors that participated in venture funding between January and April are indigenous.

Thus, 36 per cent of investors during the period under review are African, the highest by far.

There have always been calls for more African investors to invest in ventures across the continent to prevent capital flight. Some of the venture capitalists that have answered this call include Enza Capital, Digital Africa, Launch Africa, Partech Africa and a host of others.

While these ventures may not have invested the most capital, in the first four months of the year, they have certainly made a strong presence.

Transactions across Africa

After Africa, venture companies from the United States have recorded the second-most presence in venture funding into African startups, with about 41 VCs making up 25 per cent of the lot.

European venture capitalists are next with 31 VCs making up 19 per cent of the total investors. This is quite a reduction in the average rate of European VCs recorded in the same period between 2023 and 2025, with about 25 per cent.

“Within Europe, it seems that so far the UK and Germany might be holding up better than France and the Netherlands in terms of the origin of investors involved in at least one deal, but it is frankly too early to call, as the samples are very small,” the report noted.

20 investors from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region have participated in funding rounds so far, making up 13 per cent of the lot. This was led mainly by investment companies out of Japan, as 12 of the 20 APAC investors active in Jan–Apr 2026 were Japan-based. Their participation was boosted by investments in the Dodai and Sora Technology deals, each with five Japanese investors listed.

11 Middle Eastern venture capitalists have been involved in African venture investments, representing 6 per cent of the lot.

162 investors have invested in African startups in 2026

A total of 162 venture capitalists have invested in African startups in 2026 so far. This consists of capitalists who have participated in at least one funding round between January and April. This represents the lowest participation recorded since 2021. This year’s number represents a 26.4 per cent decline compared to 220 ventures that participated in the same period in 2025.

Speaking of the level of decline in participating investors, 556 venture capitalists invested in African startups between January and April, 2022. The number would drop to 222 within the same period in 2024 and 22o in 2025.

The combined factor of declining rounds and a reduction in the number of investors is a significant worry for the ecosystem. Both are certainly intertwined because the more venture capitalists active in a space, the more deals and rounds to be expected. And vice versa.

“This drop in investor participation is tightly linked to the shape of the market, with January to April 2026 recording only 124 deals, excluding exits, significantly down versus recent January to April windows,” the report noted.

L-R: Andrew Key (Executive Director), Hany Fekry (Group Chief Executive Officer), and Hamish Houston (Group Chief Operating Officer)

Among the most active investors is DEG, which announced 11 new grants via its Developpp Programme. There is also the Azur Innovation Fund, which was involved in four new equity investments in Morocco (Enakl, Weego, Goswap & ZSystems).

Then there are startups which specialise in early-stage startup funding and growth, which include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Enza Capital, Norrsken 22, Global Innovation Fund, Digital Africa, Launch Africa, Partech and Madica.

“While the overall set of active participants is smaller in 2026 so far, the market still benefits from a core of repeat actors that can provide continuity,” the report noted.

See also: Funding: 32 African startups raised $110m in April, the lowest in 12 months