After big rounds, Francophone Africa investors want ecosystem depth in 2026

In Francophone Africa, where venture funding is still dominated by a handful of large deals, investors say 2026 will be defined less by headline numbers and more by whether fintech interoperability, climate adaptation startups, and venture studios can turn early momentum into durable ecosystems.

Francophone African startups raised at least $450 million in 2025, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal, mostly in fintech, mobility, and climate-linked services. Funding to countries such as Senegal, Benin, and Togo was driven by single outsized rounds, masking thinner deal flow at the early stage.

Yet, deal counts and investor participation are rising across the continent, with over 500 investors backing startups with at least $100,000 ticket sizes.

We asked three investors what they think of Francophone Africa and how they predict the tech ecosystem to grow in 2026.

Fintech will remain a dominant sector

Lina Kacyem, Investment manager, Launch Africa Ventures

“Fintech will continue to dominate in Francophone Africa because the most impactful initiatives at a regional level are still happening in financial services. Interoperability efforts coming from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) are a big deal. Both regions are trying to solve the same problem but in different ways, and 2026 is when we’ll really see how implementation plays out.

What makes this interesting is the mix of players. You have giants like Orange Money and MTN MoMo, Wave on the other side, and then startups that have been trying to build on the interoperability layer, like Djamo and smaller players. How those dynamics evolve matters.

Another major issue is cross-border payments. There is an increasing amount of inter-regional trade within the WAEMU and the CEMAC regions, but moving money is still complicated for individuals and businesses. Even moving from West African CFA to Central African CFA requires conversion into euros first. Startups trying to solve regional payments and payments to suppliers in places like China, Turkey, or Dubai, ideally while working with regulators, are tackling a real infrastructure problem.

Beyond fintech, logistics is one of the most interesting sectors. Many countries are investing heavily in ports, roads, and regional trade corridors, such as Lomé, Dakar, Abidjan, Cotonou, Doala, and Accra. There is an increasing effort around the inter-regional movement of goods, and that creates real opportunities. Financial services and logistics remain the most compelling sectors. Banking still works very poorly, and that gap is not going away soon.

Senegal stands out because the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Dakar is already well established. You have strong institutional players, experienced VCs, and a very active diaspora in the US tech ecosystem that stays connected to what’s happening locally. There’s also meaningful government involvement, and a next wave of entrepreneurs that has been preparing for the past two to three years and is about to emerge.

Morocco has built a solid early-stage ecosystem through universities, entrepreneurship centres, government support, and funding mechanisms. The challenge now is talent retention and scaling beyond the early stage. What becomes interesting is when people come back and launch companies. Moroccan startups also benefit from serving Europe, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa at the same time.

Tunisia is very similar in terms of talent and startup generation, but the economy is more fragile, which makes retaining talent harder. Still, within the Francophone ecosystem, it remains one of the stronger environments for producing startups.

Benin is interesting less because of entrepreneurs coming out of the country today and more because of its ability to attract people. The government has focused on digitalising administrative processes and making it easier to set up businesses and access preferential treatment. That is starting to work. What will matter is who they manage to attract and how.

Finally, in terms of funding, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon will remain notable in the ecosystem. Cameroon, for what a lot of investors note as the strength of its entrepreneurs despite a very challenging environment, and for Côte d’Ivoire, given the growth of the country.”

Investor interest is broadening, but early-stage funding remains the bottleneck

Maxime Bayen, Operations Partner, Catalyst Fund

“Francophone African markets definitely continue to look increasingly attractive but still uneven for investors: there’s growing funding activity beyond the “Big Four,” with countries like Senegal and Benin raising significant rounds in 2025 for instance (though in these 2 cases mainly driven by 1–2 large rounds like Wave’s debt round and Spiro’s $100 million round), and targeted vehicles such as Digital Africa or Saviu directing significant portion of their capital into Francophone Africa startups. 

However, the ecosystem remains highly concentrated and early-stage segments are undercapitalised, with pre-seed funding unfortunately a bit stagnant—not specific to Francophone Africa though—and dependent on grants, signalling structural gaps that need to be addressed for sustained investor interest.

Using Africa: The Big Deal database, in 2025, no less than 108 different investors signed cheques to startups in Francophone Africa through over 100 deals. Some of them, like Digital Africa (with over 15 deals), Axian, Plug & Play, Madica, and Janngo Capital, have been doing more than 4-5 deals across this area over the past 12 months. This is clearly more than an exploratory move. Francophone Africa is definitely on the investment radar of most active Africa-focused VCs now.

According to Africa: The Big Deal database, the number of deal sizes above $100,000 in the region is now regularly above 80 each year since 2021 and is actually growing (from 76 in 2024 to 107 in 2025), proving again that the ecosystem is gaining in maturity. Similarly, if we look at the number of startups’ investment above $1 million in the region (a key metric to assess the maturity of a startup ecosystem), last year stood at 33 vs. 22 in 2024 and actually around 15 in 2020. The 2021–2025 era has definitely seen a change of phase for the region’s ecosystem. 

At Catalyst Fund, our thesis in the region is firmly anchored in climate adaptation and resilience. With four portfolio companies already operating across Francophone Africa in areas such as precision agriculture (Tolbi), smart mobility (Enakl), insurtech (Assuraf), and regenerative farming (Sand to Green), we are strong believers that the region is uniquely positioned to lead the continent on these critical climate themes.”

Venture studios are emerging as the missing link in early-stage Francophone markets

Leslie Osette, Chief Operating Officer, Mstudio

“Investor interest in [Francophone Africa] is moving beyond exploration toward real conviction, especially at the early stage. We are seeing this through our own network. We work with a community of around 50 friendly VCs that have traditionally been very active in the Big Four ecosystems. Today, many of them are increasingly focused on Francophone Africa, joining regular calls with our fundraising teams every two months to review deal flow and ecosystem progress.

In Abidjan, this shift is very tangible. We now receive visits from international VC funds almost every month, something that was rare just two years ago. Several funds have decided to open local offices or place senior team members in Côte d’Ivoire, including Ventures Platform and Launch Africa. The fact that these investors are choosing to call Abidjan home is not a surprise: the city has become one of the most active and connected hubs in Francophone West Africa.

Policy momentum also plays a role. In Senegal, the new government has restarted work on the startup law and broader ecosystem reforms, sending a positive signal to founders and investors alike.

In 2025, some Francophone markets raised large funding amounts, but these figures are often highly concentrated. Senegal raised over $100 million in 2025, largely driven by Wave’s financing. Benin also raised over $100 million, almost entirely from Spiro. Togo raised around $30 million, mainly due to Gozem.

While these companies are important successes, these markets remain highly concentrated in a small number of companies and industries, often climate-tech or mobility-related, with limited sector diversification and relatively low deal counts. For example, Senegal recorded fewer than 10 deals in 2025, despite its strong visibility. This concentration means that funding volumes alone are not yet a strong indicator of ecosystem depth. 

Other Francophone markets show healthier signals when we look at deal count and diversification. Morocco recorded around 30 deals and raised $58 million in 2025, spread across multiple sectors and stages, reflecting a more mature and balanced ecosystem.

Côte d’Ivoire recorded 23 deals and raised $28 million in 2025, with activity spread across several sectors, particularly at the pre-seed stage. This level of deal flow points to strong pipeline generation rather than reliance on a single outlier. For long-term investors, these markets provide better visibility into founder quality, repeat activity, and future scaling potential.

Francophone Africa in 2025 also shows a different and more realistic positioning when it comes to exits. Rather than focusing on initial public offerings (IPOs) or unicorn outcomes, the region is beginning to demonstrate practical, repeatable exit paths. A strong case study is Saviu Ventures, one of the most active early-stage investors in Francophone Africa.

Saviu has successfully exited several companies, including Lapaire, Anka, and Kamtar, through trade sales and strategic acquisitions. These exits were built around strong operations, clear unit economics, and early alignment on exit scenarios.

This approach matters because it reflects the reality of the market: Exits are often mid-sized, but capital-efficient; liquidity comes from strategic buyers, not public markets; and value creation is driven by fundamentals, not hype. These outcomes help reset expectations and build confidence among limited partners (LPs) and founders that venture capital in Francophone Africa can deliver returns through realistic and repeatable paths.

The venture studio model is particularly well-adapted to underserved Francophone African markets, where early-stage infrastructure is still developing. In Côte d’Ivoire, Mstudio has represented 66% of all early-stage deals over the past three years, playing a central role in structuring the pre-seed pipeline. By building companies from the ground up and supporting founders operationally, venture studios help reduce early execution risk and improve startup quality.

More broadly, our hope for the coming years is to see more venture studios created across other underserved Francophone African markets. This model can help transform early entrepreneurial energy into fundable, scalable companies and strengthen the entire investment ecosystem. We are consolidating our portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire, with 10 companies having raised $750,000 at a combined valuation of $25.3 million, and more in the pipeline.

From an investor perspective, we expect capital in 2026 to follow ecosystems that show consistent pre-seed activity and strong builder-led support, rather than markets driven by a few isolated rounds.”