Blockchain funding in Africa to jump 5x by 2022

by Arthur · April 18, 2023

Despite the challenging year 2022, which saw several major players disappear from the global cryptocurrency scene, the blockchain community on the African continent has continued to attract massive investment, registering a fivefold year-on-year increase.

In fact, blockchain venture funding in Africa totaled $89.6 million in 2021, only to increase to $474 million (or nearly 430%) in 2022, the only region to record a triple-digit percentage increase in its share of total global blockchain venture . dollars collected, according to African Blockchain Report 2022 published April 18.

*Global blockchain venture funding by region. Source: CV VC/Standard Bank*

Africa vs. world

According to the research, as the blockchain-focused investment company Resume VC conducted in partnership with Standard Bank, a financial services provider focused on supporting Africa’s growth and development, these results illustrate higher funding growth than in any other region:

“African blockchain startups raised a total of $474 million in 2022, an annual funding increase of 429% compared to $90 million in 2021. Africa has a higher funding growth rate than any region. In the US, funding was flat in 2021 at $15.2 billion, while funding to Asia and Europe increased 50% and 35% year-over-year to $4.74 billion and $4.88 billion, respectively.

In terms of specific countries, Seychelles and South Africa accounted for the vast majority, or 81%, of African blockchain venture funding during 2022, with the former raising $208 million and the latter $177 million, the report said. Furthermore, Africa’s blockchain-focused annual funding growth was 759% higher than Asia, which was the second best performer.

On top of that, Africa was the only region to experience an increase in median deal size (median amount of money received by companies per closed deal) in 2022, growing by 58% to reach $1.5 million. Furthermore:

“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.”

Interestingly, Africa’s remarkable progress in venture capitalist (VC) funding was already evident by mid-2022. As it happens, in August 2022, Finbold reported on the African blockchain companies’ successes during the first half of that year, having recorded $304 million in funding, nearly tripling the amount received in 2021.