Africa’s Blockchain Boom: VC Funding Surges to 7.4% as Global Markets Rebound

Move over, Wall Street—Africa's blockchain sector is stealing the spotlight. Venture capitalists are pouring cash into the continent's crypto innovators, with blockchain now claiming 7.4% of all VC deals. Who needs traditional finance when distributed ledgers are rewriting the rules?

While global markets sputter back to life, Africa's deal flow isn't just recovering—it's lapping the competition. From Lagos to Nairobi, founders are building the next generation of financial infrastructure while investment bankers still try to explain NFTs to their golf buddies.

The takeaway? When the next bull run hits, don't be surprised if it starts in Dakar instead of Davos. Just don't tell the hedge funds—they're still waiting for their 'blockchain strategy' PowerPoint decks to print.

Key Report Findings:

• Global Trend: Blockchain ventures worldwide grew 6% in deal count and 14% in funding 
• Africa’s Global Position: Africa’s share of global blockchain deal count rose to 2.3% (up from 2.1%), while its share of global blockchain funding declined to 1% (down from 1.8%).
• Within Africa: Blockchain captured 7.4% share of all VC funding (up from 7%) and accounted for 12.7% of all deals (up from 7.3%) 
• African Deal Sizes & Capital: The median blockchain deal size in Africa hit $2.8m million, double the median across all sectors ($1.4m), despite total capital deployed dropping 36% to $122.5 million
• Leading Markets: Nigeria leads with 33% deal count, Kenya secures 13% of Africa’s blockchain deals. South Africa captures 18% of the total funding, while Pan-African startups attract 28.4% of all funding, reflecting the rise of scalable, cross-border platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed rounds dominated, attracting 33.9% of all blockchain funding, showing strong early-stage momentum
• Sector Focus: Centralized Blockchain Financial Services received the largest share of funding, accounting for 40.5% of total funding

Beyond Fintech: Blockchain Is Empowering Africa’s Critical Industries

The CV VC African Blockchain Report reveals a shift: blockchain in Africa is no longer only confined to digital assets and finance. It is now a vital technology LAYER for the advancement of other essential sectors, such as agriculture, which employs over 60% of Africa’s workforce. Here, blockchain is securing land ownership, powering rural energy, and verifying farmers’ climate action, but its most immediate impact is in transforming Africa’s food supply system.

Blockchain is solving the continent’s double-digit billion food export loss caused by poor supply chain traceability. By recording farmer identities and crop data history onchain, it helps meet strict new EU import rules, such as the €7.5 billion demand for proof of zero deforestation and ethical sourcing by 2025. Blockchain brings transparency, liquidity, and global market access to farmers with just a mobile connection. Farmers are rewarded for climate-positive action, using blockchain-verified carbon tracking, which can earn a smallholder an extra $300 per year, enough to send two children to school. With global food brands chasing ESG targets, Africa is poised to tap into the billion-dollar green food market.

“Africa isn’t testing blockchain, it’s embedding it where it matters most for the future of humanity,” said George Maina, CEO of Shamba Records. “In agriculture, we’re blending regenerative wisdom with blockchain transparency.”

Regulatory Awakening and the Opportunity Gap

Seven African nations now have clear digital asset regulations. Another 35 are exploring frameworks, shifting from risk aversion to innovation enablement. Yet Africa still captured just 1% of global blockchain funding in 2024.

This isn’t just an investment gap, it’s an opportunity gap,” said Mathias Ruch, CEO, CV VC. “Africa isn’t underperforming. Global capital is under-participating.”

Africa will be home to 25% of the world’s population by 2050, it has 65% of global arable land, and 9 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies. With the leapfrogging infrastructure of mobile and blockchain, African blockchain founders are not following. They are forging.

“This report highlights a continent in motion,” said Rob Downes, Head of Digital Assets, Absa CIB. “African innovators are solving deeply rooted challenges with blockchain, from trade bottlenecks to agricultural transformation. Absa is pleased to be an active contributor and believes blockchain will be central to Africa’s digital economic leap.”

The CV VC African Blockchain Report, published in association with Absa Group, doesn’t just present data. It signals transformative economic innovators to global investors, developers, and policymakers.