HeyJaredAfrica: The Big Deal - Listening Mode
For those of you who prefer to consume your content on the go, we're trialling this new feature: an audio version of the "Africa: The Big Deal" weekly post. Hope you enjoy it! thebigdeal.substack.com
- Indexed pieces, last 90 days
- 9
- Latest publication
- Sep 28, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
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Latest pieces
$2 billion, Baby! 🚀 (opens the original)
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Though a mega deal could always prove us wrong, September isn’t quite set to match the very strong numbers we saw in both June and August ($515m and $455m respectively). That said, we know already that the $2 billion mark in start-up funding in Africa (exc. exits) has now been crossed as of last week. This is only a few weeks later than in 2025 or 2023 (when it happened in August), and much earlier than in 2024 (when we had to wait until December). If the past few years since the funding heatwa
August 2026: Mo(o)ving up (opens the original)
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In August 2026, 31 start-ups in Africa announced funding rounds of $100k or more, raising a combined $455m (excluding exits). At first glance, August looks like a strong rebound after July’s weak $102m. And in value terms, it definitely was: the total raised was more than twice the previous 12-month average of $220m/month, and the second-highest monthly total of the past year, behind only June 2026. But with only 31 ventures raising, the level of activity was well below the previous 12-month ave
The Missing First Cheque: Why African Pre-Seed Keeps Shrinking (opens the original)
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It has never been cheaper to start a company. AI collapses the cost of a first prototype, and founders are responding: when Digital Africa ran an AI Startup Challenge in Nairobi, I expected a few dozen entries and received more than 400, from 40 countries, including places we had never heard from before. Yet the money that turns those ideas into companies is moving the other way. In Africa, the first cheque is disappearing.The evidence sits in <a href="https://thebigdeal.gumroad.com/l/bQSRD/afri
Moove over: Africa has a new unicorn 🦄 (opens the original)
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Moove has joined Africa’s unicorn club. The Nigerian-born, now UAE-headquartered mobility company announced a $250m Series C a few days ago, valuing the company at $2.1b. The round was led by Mubadala, and co-led by Woven Capital and Ion Pacific. The valuation jump is significant, as the last shared valuation was $750m in 2024. That puts it in the top three most valuable African private tech ventures, at least among those with a recently disclosed valuation, behind fintechs Flutterwave (<a href=
July 2026: Just a trickle of equity (opens the original)
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44 start-ups announced funding rounds of $100k or more last month in Africa, raising a combined $102m (exc. exits). That makes July a low-value month, but not a low-activity one. Indeed, from a number of ventures raising perspective, this was almost exactly in line with the previous 12-month average. However, the amount raised was far weaker: at $102m, July came in 60% below the previous 12-month funding average of $258m/month. It was also the lowest monthly total since March 2025.<a class="imag
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