Financial, crypto, biotech start-ups in Nigeria attract biggest deals in Q1
Nigeria’s start-ups attracted over $ 126million investment deals in the first nine months in 2020 despite the COVID-19 outbreak that has obstructed the global economy.
A recent venture capital data compiled by Startuplist Africa – a data-driven platform that focuses on African start-ups— show that startups in the financial services, crypto and biotechnology industries accounted for the largest investment deals for the period.
The financial services industry attracted $46million (38percent) in investment deals for the period. This was followed by startups in the crypto industry with $17million investment deals; biotechnology with $15million; healthcare with $ 11million; e- commerce with $ 10million, and renewable with $ 7million. Others account for the remaining.
Experts in the country’s start- up ecosystem say it is an indication that entrepreneurship is gaining momentum in the country.
“Start- ups in Nigeria have created thousands of jobs and activities within the ecosystem and this is striving to consolidate the nation’s status as a topnotch international hub by attracting investors and stimulate entrepreneurship in the country,” O.O. Nwoye, executive director, Tech Circle, said.
Nwoye explained that Nigeria was transitioning into a dynamic ecosystem offering start-ups a platform to potentially grow into million-dollar businesses.
“Last year, tech companies such as Paystack and Flutterwave received huge funding from abroad to strengthen their mobile payment solutions,” he said.
Uche Aniche, the convener of Startupsouth, believes that the Nigerian ecosystem has undergone a transformation in recent years.
“Thanks to the wave of fresh young talents. Lots of start- ups and small businesses have taken off, creating a surge of co-working spaces and a collaborative spirit that is vital for the success of innovation hubs,” Aniche said.
He further said that investments in Nigerian companies havd grown steadily over the past year, pointing to a relative improvement of the investment in the ecosystem and a huge amount of money available to invest in start-ups.
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected over 30million people and claimed 952,033 lives globally since the first outbreak was recorded in Wuhan, China in January 2020.