According to an analysis of the $417.5 million that was raised by Nigerian tech startups during the first nine months of 2021, fintech firms accounted for about $379 million or 90.78% of the total.
Nigerian Fintechs Dominate the African Continent
Nigerian fintechs currently account for more than 90% of the $417.5 million that was raised by tech startups during the first nine months of 2021, a local report has said.
While the report, which was compiled by local media outlet Punch, notes that the $417.5 million is already significantly higher than the $300 million that was raised in the entirety of 2020, it acknowledges that this growth in funds raised is largely thanks to fintech groups.
To illustrate, the report points to the fact that $600 million was raised by fintech startups between 2014 and 2019. To prove that the fintech space has grown rapidly since 2020, the report makes reference to the Fintech Association of Nigeria (FAN)’s belief that investment in the financial service ecosystem will exceed $400M in 2021. In addition to the expected record investment, the FAN has predicted that the revenue base will reach $543M by 2022.
Government Support
Besides accounting for the majority of funds that were raised by tech startups, Nigerian firms also account for the lion’s share of funds raised by fintech startups that operate on the African continent. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, of the 277 fintech funding rounds tracked by Disrupt Africa between 2015 and mid-2021, 108 of these rounds went to Nigerian startups.
These rounds, which totaled $467,901,000 in investment, mean Nigerian fintechs accounted for 53.4 percent of funds raised since tracking began. This figure is a much higher dollar total than that of second-ranked South Africa whose startups raised a total of $216,124,800 over the same period.
Meanwhile, Punch newspaper also reported that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has since taken note of the space’s growth and is now keen on boosting this further by creating an environment that allows the country’s youth to turn their passions into ideas.
The report added that a “Startup Bill,” which is a joint initiative between Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem and the Presidency, is now set to be tabled before the Nigerian legislature sometime before the end of 2021.
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