African Investors Now Fund 40% of Tech Deals (Up from 25%) + Allianz Closes $1B Blended Finance Fund + Khaby Lame Lands $900M Creator Economy Deal

Briter report shows local investors wrote $1.6B as global capital declined. African startups raised $3.6B in 2025 (+25% YoY) across 635 deals (+43%). | Monday, January 26, 2026

Three stories define capital localization, infrastructure investment, and creator economy breakthroughs today.

Briter’s January 2026 report shows African investors now account for nearly 40% of total tech funding (up from 25%), maintaining $1.6 billion in annual deployment while global investors pulled back from $5 billion to $2.3 billion—with local fund managers like Ventures Platform and Benue Capital providing geographic context and strategic support that drove Moniepoint to unicorn status.

African startups raised $3.6 billion in 2025 (+25% YoY) across 635 disclosed deals (+43%), though the Big Four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa) captured 80-85% of capital while growth-stage funding remained scarce.

Allianz Global Investors closed the first tranche of its $1 billion Credit Emerging Markets (ACE) blended finance fund at $690 million, targeting renewable power, clean transport, climate-resilient agriculture, and micro-lending infrastructure for Africa’s 44 million SMEs—using $150M in first-loss capital from development finance institutions to de-risk investments for pension funds and insurance giants.

Khaby Lame, the world’s most-followed TikToker with 162+ million followers, closed a nearly $900 million deal for his company Step Distinctive, marking one of the largest creator economy transactions in history.