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By Winnie Kamau
Nairobi, Kenya: According to a recently released report, showed the top 5 African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa lead as anchor markets driving 77% of deal flows across the continent.
The report launched at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) East Africa highlighted the substantial involvement of German investors in Africa’s startup ecosystem over the past decade.
The data shows that founders in 19 African countries have collectively secured $1.88 billion in deals through German-backed syndicates.
The report dubbed The Germany-Africa Investment Report: A Decade of Capital Flows & Ecosystem Growth (2015-2025), released by the Africa Investment Bridge initiative, documents how African founders particularly in AgTech, Fintech, and HealthTech have built compelling businesses that attracted 784% growth in German deal participation between the foundation phase (2015-2019) and scale phase (2020-2025).
The Nairobi launch underscores Kenya’s position at the heart of this investment corridor: The country leads all African markets with 50 German-backed deals over the decade, cementing its role as East Africa’s premier innovation hub.
The report comes at a decisive moment for the continent. Africa is the fastest-growing region globally, with GDP growth projected at around 4% annually. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is said to be connecting 1.3 billion people in the world’s largest free trade zone by population, and by 2030, one in five people globally will be African.
Mercy Mukulu Kenya’s Country Director of Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa Startup Haus Mombasa noted that Africa had no shortage of innovations
“Africa does not lack innovations but there’s a lot of lack of structure and perceptions. There are a lot of opportunities to invest in Africa” Mercy said.
Yet African startups received just 0.6% of global venture capital in 2024 a gap that represents both a market inefficiency and an untapped opportunity for international investors willing to engage through structured partnerships with local fund managers and ecosystems.
“The data tells a clear story: African founders are building solutions that work in agriculture, financial services, health, and climate adaptation,” said Sebastian Gentry, Head of Programs at the Westerwelle Foundation.
Adding “This report is designed to reduce the information asymmetry that keeps international capital on the sidelines. When investors engage through trusted local partners and proven structures, they access not just returns, but participation in one of the most significant economic transformations of our time.”
Where the Capital Flowed
Kenya emerged as the leading destination with 50 deals, reflecting Nairobi’s position as East Africa’s innovation hub. Nigeria followed with 34 deals, while Tanzania’s growing ecosystem attracted 24 deals, a notable signal of German investors’ willingness to look beyond the traditional “Big Five” markets. South Africa (19 deals) and Ghana (17 deals) rounded out the core corridor, collectively representing 77% of all transactions.
African founders in AgTech and Fintech captured 51% of German-backed deals, reflecting the continent’s leadership in mobile money innovation and agricultural technology. Health and Education emerged as growing priorities in the 2020-2025 period, aligning with Africa’s structural development needs and demographic dividend.
During the launch of the report, participants gave their views on the startup ecosystem in Kenya. Andreas Spieß of Mwingi Kenya Limited noted with concern from an investor perspective with the recent collapse of Koko Network a Kenyan startup.
“The collapse of Koko Networks, this has scattered the trust with institutional investors because they fear they cannot rely first of all on regulatory and jurisdictions which were so solid even the World bank wanted to issue an insurance of $180 million to Koko Networks and it collapsed because there was regulatory failure within Kenyan administrative”
Adding “Prior to that in each market there has been huge disruptions with the latest Copia collapsed, Twiga collapsed, Market force collapsed, Mazoko is shrinking and hundreds of millions of dollars of investors have been burned” stated Andreas.
Andreas also noted there was the fintech bubble and pay-go bubble in the solar market which burnt hundreds of millions of dollars. Though Andreas said he is not giving up on African startups I noted these are some of the realities and challenges startups face and cause alot of havoc when the Governments of the day are not supportive of their own.
The report showed that German syndicate exposure peaked at $565.5 million in 2023 before declining sharply, a pattern the authors attribute to mega-deal concentration rather than ecosystem weakness. African startup funding rebounded to $3.8 billion in 2025, with volumes up 32% and deal counts rising 8%, pointing to a market that is maturing and becoming more globally connected.
The report by Africa Investment Bridge is implemented by the Westerwelle Foundation in partnership withGIZ SPARK, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and co-financed by the European Union.
