Uganda’s startup scene raised $22 million in 2025, placing the country among Africa’s emerging tech hubs, according to data sourced from The Big Deal.
The figures show that while funding on the continent remains highly concentrated, smaller markets like Uganda are slowly gaining ground.
Africa’s startup funding landscape in 2025 was still led by Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, known as the Big Four. For the seventh year in a row, these four countries took 82 percent of all startup funding on the continent. Together, they account for about 30 percent of Africa’s population and around 40 percent of its nominal GDP.
Kenya emerged as Africa’s top startup market, raising nearly $1 billion, its strongest performance since 2022. Egypt followed with $614 million, while South Africa attracted $600 million. Nigeria was the only Big Four market to record a decline, with startups raising $343 million, down 17 percent from 2024.
Outside the Big Four, several countries posted notable gains. Senegal ranked fifth with $157 million, driven mainly by a large Wave debt round. Benin followed with $100 million from a single Spiro deal.
Uganda joined a group of emerging markets that raised between $10 million and $100 million. Alongside Uganda’s $22 million were Morocco at $58 million, Ghana at $56 million, Tunisia at $37 million, Togo at $31 million, Côte d’Ivoire at $28 million, Rwanda at $25 million and Mali at $18 million.
When measured by deal volume rather than funding value, Uganda also featured among the top 10 African markets by number of funded startups, alongside Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Tanzania and Rwanda.
At the regional level, Eastern Africa led by value, taking 34 percent of all startup funding in 2025. Western Africa followed with 24 percent, ahead of Northern Africa at 23 percent and Southern Africa at 19 percent.
The data shows that while Africa’s startup capital is still dominated by a few big markets, countries like Uganda are beginning to attract more investor attention, especially in smaller deal sizes.