Africa accounts for barely 1 percent of the world’s unicorns despite a surge in fintech innovation and a growing startup scene, with Nigeria leading the continent’s charge with the most $1 billion startups.
The global unicorns, which consist of about 1,200 to 1,500 unicorns that are private companies valued at over $1 billion, have only a small fraction of Africans dominating the space.
For many years, Africa has had about seven unicorns, but more recently, it has increased to about eight to nine. In percentage terms, if the global total is 1,400 unicorns, and Africa has eight or nine, that’s around 0.5 percent to 1 percent of all unicorns globally, DigiTimes stated.
Africa is producing unicorns, but the numbers are very small compared to other regions, and the trend is positive, especially in fintech and digital finance. Countries like Nigeria dominate the list, and many unicorns are either founded in or have a strong base/operations in Nigeria. Egypt, Senegal, and South Africa are also showing up.
A unicorn is a startup valued at $1 billion or more. These are highly innovative and market-disruptive startups. While Nigeria has more than 21.3K plus startups, just four have become Unicorns, with the latest entrant to the club being Maser on Jun 01, 2022. In 2025, Nigeria has seen no new unicorn startups.
Globally, Nigeria is number 29 in terms of total Unicorns created, behind Luxembourg (4 unicorns) at rank 28 and Italy (4 unicorns) at rank 27. Lagos leads the list of cities in Nigeria with the most unicorns at 3. It is followed by Port Harcourt (1 unicorn). Among sectors, Retail has seen the most unicorns created at 3, followed by FinTech at 3, and Enterprise Applications at 2.
Read also: Innovation gap: Why Nigeria, others remain net user of global apps
Here are some of the unicorn startups in Africa:
Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) – Nigeria
The firm joined the unicorn club in October 2024 with a $110 million funding round led by DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod, etc. Its valuation passed $1 billion.
Founded in 2015, the firm was initially built to provide infrastructure and payments for banks. It now offers services to businesses and individuals. It also processes over 800 million transactions per month, with a transaction value of approximately $17 billion monthly.
The firm is expanding across Africa as it has acquired a microfinance bank in Kenya.
Flutterwave – Nigeria/Pan Africa
The firm became a unicorn around 2021. Later on, Series D funding pushed the valuation over $3 billion.
Founded in 2016, the firm provides payment infrastructure both online and offline across many African countries. It handles cross-border payment flows, helps merchants, and so on.
OPay – Nigeria
The firm joined unicorn status around 2021, valued at about $2 billion in its Series C. It offers mobile payments, an agent network, loans, savings, bill payment, and so on across multiple countries.
Wave – Senegal (Francophone Africa)
The firm became a unicorn in 2021 via a $200 million Series A, valuation of approximately $1.7 billion.
It focuses on low-cost mobile money services, targeting financial inclusion in Francophone African countries.
Andela – Founded in Nigeria / US base and African roots
The firm reached unicorn status in September 2021 with a valuation of ~$1.5 billion after a Series E round.
It identifies, trains, and connects African software developers with global companies. Over time, its model has evolved into, broader marketplace, and so on.
Interswitch – Nigeria
The firm became a unicorn in 2019 (Visa investment ~$200 million) at ~$1 billion valuation, and it raised more later.
It provides payment switch, banking software, card services, and so on. It operates in many African countries.
Chipper cash – Ghana / Uganda / US
The firm became a unicorn in 2021 with Series C / extension funding with a valuation of ~$2+ billion.
It enables peer-to-peer payments, cross-border money transfers, including some crypto-related and other financial services. The firm is active in several African countries.
MNT-Halan – Egypt
The firm emerged as a unicorn in 2023 with a reported valuation of ~$1 billion. It combines several services such as digital wallets, lending, and possibly e-commerce and ride-hailing components, aimed at under-banked populations.
Tyme Group – South Africa / Singapore (but active in Africa)
The firm’s valuation reported is ~$1.5 billion. It operates in the digital banking space, which focuses on consumer banking, expanding beyond Africa (Southeast Asia).
