African tech funding flipped the script in 2025. After bleeding capital for two straight years, the ecosystem pulled in over $3 billion—a 36% jump from 2024’s $2.2 billion and the first time crossing that threshold since 2022.

The comeback wasn’t about more deals. It was about bigger bets. According to Africa: The Big Deal, investors shifted strategy—writing fewer checks but making them count. The $50 million+ mega-round became standard operating procedure rather than headline news.

Here’s how the continent’s top 6 capital raises rewrote the playbook.

1. Moniepoint — $200M Series C Extension

Nigeria | Fintech

Moniepoint didn’t wait long after hitting unicorn status. The Nigerian fintech closed 2024 with a $110 million Series C that pushed valuation past $1 billion. By October 2025, they’d added another $200 million—over $310 million total for the extended round.

The numbers justify the hype: $250 billion in annual transaction value across 10 million business and consumer accounts. But here’s what separates Moniepoint from the unicorn graveyard—they’re actually profitable. First African fintech to hit billion-dollar valuation while maintaining positive unit economics.

The extension brought heavy hitters: Development Partners International and LeapFrog Investments led, with Visa, IFC, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock joining. The war chest funds regional expansion, starting with Kenya via the KopoKopo acquisition.

2. Sun King — $156M Securitization

Kenya | Clean Energy

Sun King pulled off something unprecedented in July: Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest commercial-bank-backed securitization outside South Africa. The $156 million structure finances solar access for 1.4 million low-income households through pay-as-you-go systems.

The deal’s architecture matters. Five commercial African banks (ABSA, Citi, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, KCB, Stanbic) funded the senior tranche. Development institutions (BII, FMO, Norfund) covered mezzanine financing. Translation: African banks now see renewable energy infrastructure as bankable, not charity.

Sun King operates across 11 African markets, having extended $1.3 billion in solar loans to nearly 10 million customers. They capped 2025 with a $40 million Lightrock equity injection in December.

3. Wave — $137M Debt Financing

Senegal | Mobile Money

Francophone Africa’s first unicorn went shopping for debt in June, securing $137 million led by South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank. British International Investment, Finnfund, and Norfund participated.

Wave’s disruption is simple: charge 1% for money transfers instead of the 10% industry standard. That pricing captured 29 million monthly active users across eight West African countries through 150,000 agents, breaking telecom dominance in mobile money.

Since the 2021 Series A—$200 million, still the largest ever raised by an African startup—Wave’s made Y Combinator’s Top 50 earning startups list two years running (2023-2024). Growth with profitability, validated.

4. hearX/Eargo Merger — $100M

South Africa/USA | Healthtech

South African hearX Group merged with US-based Eargo in April, creating LXE Hearing with $100 million backing from Patient Square Capital. First major consolidation in the over-the-counter hearing aid market since FDA approval in 2022.

Founded in Pretoria (2015), hearX built the Lexie brand—among the first OTC hearing aids in America. The value prop targets 44 million American adults with hearing loss who skip traditional aids due to cost. Mobile-based screening tech plus affordable Bose-powered devices solved the access problem.

hearX CEO Nic Klopper leads the merged entity. South African VC HAVAÍC, an early backer since 2019, called it a milestone for African innovation cracking global markets. They’re not wrong—it’s one of South Africa’s largest tech exits.

5. Spiro — $100M

Multi-country | E-Mobility

Africa’s largest electric vehicle investment landed in October: $100 million for Spiro’s battery-swapping network. FEDA (Afreximbank’s impact arm) led with $75 million; strategic investors added $25 million.

Dubai-headquartered but Africa-focused, Spiro runs 60,000+ electric motorcycles across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Their 1,500 swap stations enable two-minute battery exchanges—critical for motorcycle taxi drivers (boda bodas, okadas) who are urban transport infrastructure.

Economics drive adoption: Spiro e-bikes cost $800 versus $1,300-$1,500 for gas models (40% cheaper upfront), with 30% lower per-kilometer operating costs. Riders covering 150-200km daily save meaningfully on fuel.

Target: 100,000+ electric bikes deployed by year-end 2025—400% year-over-year growth. Previous funding: $180 million from Equitane Group and Société Générale.

6. SolarAfrica — $98M Project Finance

South Africa | Solar Power

SolarAfrica secured $98 million to launch SunCentral’s first phase—144 megawatts toward an eventual 1-gigawatt solar generation project.

Timing is everything. South Africa’s pushing private power generation to address chronic electricity crisis. Load-shedding created massive demand for reliable distributed solar, making the country a clean energy investment magnet.

This is infrastructure-scale renewable development attracting both commercial banks and development finance—exactly what the sector needs.