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As VC activity slowed down globally last year, Kenya defied odds to record the strongest growth in funding raised in Africa. Reports show that the deal count and value to the country surpassed 2021 figures owing to increased investor interest.
Data from market intelligence firm Briter Bridges, and The Big Deal shows Kenya raised $1.1 billion, more than double the funding that East Africa’s biggest economy got in 2021, when the continent raised about $5 billion.
Another report by Partech, which excluded Sun King’s mega round, also shows that Kenya’s funding spiked by 33% last year, to a record $758 million.
Why Africa had no unicorns last year despite record fundraising haul

Partech placed Kenya fourth in the list of the top VC destinations after Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt, respectively. The four markets account for over 70% of the total VC funding in Africa.
Briter, which included country ranking this year, and Big Deal positioned Kenya as second in VC destination after Nigeria, which took the lead after raising $1.2 billion, despite the deal number and value dropping. When compared to the previous year, the amount invested in Nigeria dipped by over 36%, according to Partech, and 20% as per Big Deal’s data. South Africa’s funding stagnated as per Partech while Big Deal data shows a 42% decline.
The reports show that Kenya recorded the strongest growth in the continent, as Egypt’s VC funding grew slightly too. Overall, Africa reported an increase in invested amount last year; Partech put the figure at $6.4 billion, Briter Bridges at $5.4 billion and Big Deal at $4.8 billion.
Clean tech and e-commerce
Nearly all sectors in Kenya experienced increased VC interest; however, clean tech, e-commerce, fintech and food and agriculture verticals accounted for the bulk of the activity.
The clean tech sector received the greatest VC interest in Kenya, as it accounted for nearly half of the total capital raised by Kenyan private venture-backed companies — buoyed by Sun King’s mega round and M-Kopa’s funding. Both PAY-Go scale-ups are providers of solar home systems, but M-Kopa’s platform now includes financing of a range of products and services.
Other clean tech ventures that attracted venture backing include BasiGo, an EV startup trying to electrify Kenya’s public transport sector currently dominated by fossil-fuel buses.
Seven scaleups hog over 70% of funding to Africa’s solar pay-go ventures

Investor interest in clean tech ventures aligns to last year’s global trend that saw more capital injected into businesses that are mitigating climate change. It is expected that the clean and climate tech verticals, and more narrowly in Africa, will continue to pull VC dollars amidst slowdown in funding.
Scale-ups in the e-commerce sector like Wasoko and MarketForce; B2B platforms enabling informal traders to source goods directly from manufacturers and distributors; and Copia, an e-commerce platform that taps its network of agents to serve customers in rural areas, also pulled in investors too. The aforementioned raised big rounds that saw the vertical emerge as one of the most positively impacted by VC funding.
Fintechs also continued to attract most funding on the continent as Africa, the world’s second-fastest payments and banking market, grows. However, in Kenya, the vertical was third in VC preference, evaluated by deal value. On the other hand, the vertical experienced the most activity in terms of deal numbers.
Meanwhile, despite Kenya experiencing the enormous growth last year, the market was not spared by the effects of VC slowdown, as some businesses like Kune and WeFarm wound up, as others like Twiga, Sendy and MarketForce cut their staff numbers as they adjusted to new fundraising realities.
Why international DFIs are looking to African startups to scale impact investing efforts

Africa predicted to experience sustained funding slowdown in 2023

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Signing out of account, Standby…
Designing a strong logo can reap endless rewards from increased awareness to sales and, even, long-term loyalty.
Most companies know that they simply can’t afford to botch their logo: it will serve as the first impression and ongoing initial point of contact with all potential customers. Whereas an emotionally-charged, aesthetically-pleasing logo can draw customers to a brand, a poorly designed one can repulse customers.
Designing a strong logo can reap endless rewards from increased awareness to sales and even long-term loyalty. There are several options when it comes to logo design: create an in-house version, crowdsource the design, work with a branding agency or hire an outside designer.
Unless you already have a designer on hand, it’s safe to say that designing in-house can be problematic. Sure, you may have taken all the right steps for developing a brand-boosting graphic, including ideating a never-before-seen design, applying color principals and determining font style. It takes a trained designer’s eye to bring a logo idea to life with high quality form and balance. Designers have a deeper understanding of sizing rations, typographic weight and symmetry, and can also better predict how a logo idea will perform across screen environments.
Related: Did Your Customers Get Tattoos of Your Logo? These Did.
Taking screen sizes into consideration is a crucial, but sometimes overlooked, element of logo design today. Furthermore, professional designers are trained to use the most sophisticated tools and systems to execute their work — tools that may be out of your wheelhouse. Low-grade design resources, such as clip art, don’t contribute to the development of a strong identity because anyone can access the same images for a different budding venture.
Logos are one area of branding development where you can’t afford to cut corners.
You also have the option of crowdsourcing for logo help using sites such as Crowdspring and 99designs. Crowdsourcing is a tempting solution because it brings a lot of variations to the decision table without high costs. When you crowdsource for designs, you are essentially baiting designers with one final prize ( a commission for the chosen design), and in turn each designer iterates on your original idea and submits the final product through the crowdsourcing platform. One flat cost, countless options, what could go wrong? Well, actually plenty.
First of all, when you spark a crowdsourcing competition, you’re providing potential candidates with one static description of your overall idea. There’s no brainstorming or meeting of the minds to further develop concepts. Furthermore, many designers are aware of the risk of wasted time if their designs are not chosen, and many subsequently don’t submit work that is reflective of their highest capabilities.
So while crowdsourcing is a cost-efficient option, it won’t necessarily bring you the logo of your dreams.
Related: How a Coffee Startup Chose its Crowdsourced Logo
The idea of working with a third-party designer can be frightening for small companies, especially when there’s a finite budget available for branding purposes. But here’s the thing: a great logo doesn’t have to use up your entire marketing and branding budget. It is possible to achieve a fantastic visual representation of your company without breaking the bank.
Sure, there are infamous stories of brands practically throwing money out the window on unimpressive designs, including the BBC’s $1.8 million logo makeover bill. Sure for a company of that magnitude a hefty bill is just a drop in the pond. But small businesses and startups simply cannot afford to spend superfluous dollars on boutique branding firms.
Related: What Is a Logo? Just the Beating Heart of Your Brand, That’s All.
If none of these options seem ideal or feasible, don’t lose hope. Many brands are turning to design services such as The Logo Company or Deluxe, where you’ll receive a distinguished logo for a price that ranges between $200 to $500. This range guarantees multiple concepts and edit rounds. Paying any more than this range for a logo is simply a waste of budget.
Developing a logo doesn’t have to break the bank, but you also can’t expect to receive a high-quality graphic if you try to get out of spending any money at all. Remember, your logo is your brand’s calling card, it’s the first thing consumers will notice and the last thing they’ll remember.
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