African blockchain funding increases by 429%. This surge in funding substantially exceeded the global average, which saw only a 4% increase in blockchain funding.
Fast facts
- In 2021, African blockchain venture firms saw about $90 million in funding of African blockchain firms.
- In 2022 African blockchain venture firms saw a total of $474 million in funding for African blockchain firms.
According to the 2022 “African Blockchain Report” by CV VC, blockchain deals in Africa raised a total of $474 million in 2022, a 429% increase over the $90 million raised in 2021. This surge in funding substantially exceeded the global average, which saw only a 4% increase in blockchain funding.
“African blockchain startups raised a total of $474m in 2022, an annual YoY funding increase of 429% compared to the $90m in 2021. Africa has a higher funding growth rate than any region. In the US, funding was similar to 2021 at $15.2b, while Asia and Europe’s funding increased by 50% and 35% YoY to $4.74b and $4.88b, respectively.”
CV VC
According to the report, African blockchain funding grew at a rate more than 12.5 times faster than general African venture funding. Overall, African venture capital increased by 34%, with $3.14 billion raised across 570 projects.
Africa recorded the biggest growth rate in fundraising globally, while the United States stayed stable at $15.2 billion, while Asia and Europe saw YoY gains of 50% and 35%, with $4.74 billion and $4.88 billion in funding, respectively.
As blockchain venture finance grows globally, Africa is emerging as an important location for blockchain-based startup investment. African blockchain finance accounted for a record 15% of all sector-agnostic venture funds raised on the continent, which is more than double the global average.
“In Africa, blockchain funding achieved a record 15% share of all sector-agnostic venture funds raised by the continent, more than double the global average, highlighting the continent’s continued emergence as a promising investment destination for blockchain-based startups.”
CV VC
Looking at the region, Seychelles and South Africa were two of the major players in the blockchain space. Together, the two countries accounted for 81.2% of blockchain venture capital. In 2022, Seychelles raised more than $208 million, and South Africa raised more than $176 million.
While Seychelles has received the most financing, Nigeria currently has the most blockchain startups. Despite having the largest number of agreements on the continent in 2022, Nigeria only accounted for 3.4% of all African blockchain venture funding.
Despite the global blockchain industry’s economic and socio-political issues in 2022, the number of African blockchain agreements increased by 12% with a total of 1,828, marking a nearly 30% rise from 2021.
The huge increase in blockchain investment, together with a pool of agreements, indicates that blockchain-based businesses are receiving more funding. This could indicate that more VC firms and investors are looking to put more money behind blockchain projects in Africa.
