For investors waiting patiently on the sidelines for Africa's venture capital winter to end, the message from 2025 is an uncomfortable one. The thaw has already begun, but the conditions have changed. Capital is returning, yet it is doing so cautiously, selectively and with far less tolerance for risk than in the exuberant years that followed the pandemic.
According to Briter's Africa Investment Report 2025 , startups across the continent raised approximately 3.6bn through more than 635 disclosed deals during the year. On the surface, the numbers suggest recovery. Look closer, however, and a more complex picture emerges. Funding has not returned evenly, nor has it revived old investment habits. Instead, the market is undergoing a quiet but decisive reset.
What is unfolding is not a simple rebound but a recalibration of expectations. Investors are no longer funding narratives of explosive growth alone. They are backing companies that have survived currency volatility, regulatory uncertainty, shrinking runways and down rounds, and have emerged with defensible business models and credible paths to scale.
