Seychelles and South Africa accounted for 95% of venture funding in the blockchain industry in Africa in 2023, suggesting that both countries have emerged as hubs for blockchain innovation and investment on the continent. Only five African countries contributed to the total $135 million in funding.
Seychelles blockchain startups raised $100 million from six deals while South African startups raised $29 million from 4 deals, according to the CV VC Africa Blockchain report. Seychelles has led blockchain funding in Africa for six consecutive years.
“South Africa and Seychelles are two of the six markets where crypto is legal in Africa and regulatory assuredness is important for investment in [blockchain startups],” Brenton Naicker, principal and head of growth of CV VC told TechCabal.
Despite the easing of crypto regulations across the continent, crypto is still banned in 12 countries, and 36 more countries have “uncertain” regulatory frameworks, per the CV VC report.
Seychelles startups that raised funding in 2023 include Beldex, which raised $28 million, crypto exchange Bitget, which raised $10 million, and Scroll, which raised $83 million. In South Africa, Momint raised $2.7 million, while NFTfi secured $18 million.
Despite the dominance of Seychelles and South Africa, other markets, including Nigeria, are on the rise. In H1 2024, Nigerian startups raised $13 million in funding from five deals, accounting for 38% of total funding by African startups.
Some funded Nigerian blockchain startups include fiat-to-crypto exchange Zap Africa and real estate tokenisation startup Seso Global which have raised $300,000 and $720,000, respectively.
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