African Blockchain Business Funding Rose 429% in 2022 — Report

In 2022, African blockchain businesses raised a total of $474 million, a 429% increase from what was raised in the year earlier, the latest CVVC African blockchain funding report has revealed. The custody and exchanges category raised over $250 million, which is equivalent to more than 50% of funds raised by blockchain companies.

South Africa and Seychelles Accounted for More Than 80% of Funds Raised

According to the latest CVVC Africa Blockchain funding report, blockchain businesses from the continent raised $474 million in 2022, a year-on-year funding increase of 429%. The report states the continent’s 2022 total blockchain funding was realized from some 29 deals, about four more than the 25 that were sealed in 2021.

Regarding individual countries with the biggest share of the total funding, the report showed that South Africa (37.3%) and Seychelles (43.9%) alone received more than 80% of the total. Nigeria, which accounted for the second-highest share in 2021, had nine deals with a total value of nearly $16 million, just 3.4% of the total funding.

Besides Nigeria and Egypt — the only countries from the continent to have recorded a decrease in the value of funds raised — the report data indicates that the rest of the tracked countries recorded significant funding increases. Liberia, which had zero funding in 2021, was the third-highest-ranked country in 2022 with 7.9% of the total funding.

Growing Demand for Crypto Trading in Africa

Meanwhile, the report shows the category of custody and exchanges as the best-performing one, having raised over $250 million or more than 50% of the total. Remarking on the dominance of this category, the report said:

The significant increase in the funding for this sector demonstrates the growing demand for cryptocurrency trading in Africa, as well as the recognition of the importance of secure storage solutions.

Fintech was the second-best performing category with 24.3%, followed by infrastructure and development which accounted for 14.3%. With the exception of the non-fungible token (NFT), gaming and metaverse category which accounted for nearly 7% of the funding, the rest of the categories had a share of the total of under one percent.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.

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