Fintechs lead Africa’s 2025 valuation table, even as the market resets

Valuations are important for tech startups; they determine whether investors can earn a return on their capital and whether a startup can raise more money at all or on favourable terms. They also shape everything from employee equity value to a company’s ability to attract top talent and strategic partners.

At the height of Africa’s post-COVID tech fundraising boom, startups commanded Silicon Valley–esque valuations as global investors poured into the continent. With interest rates at record lows worldwide, riskier asset classes like venture capital in Africa suddenly looked far more attractive.

But that era is behind us. African investors now outnumber foreign ones in deal count, and they invest with expectations of lower valuations. This has been caused by weaker startup performance, which has eroded founders’ leverage, and investors demanding profitability even from younger startups still finding market fit. 

With this new reality of investors wanting proof of steady cash, stable margins, and plans that can withstand currency swings, how African startups are valued has changed. While the top group still adds up to more than $20 billion, the gap between firms with steady profit and those that need new money has widened.

This list includes only tech-enabled startups with core operations in Africa and is based on the last known paper valuation from company press releases, media reports, investor filings, or investor communications. 

While listed companies are excluded, it is worth noting that in November 2025, two listings ended a prolonged freeze in tech markets. Optasia, a South African fintech, was listed in Johannesburg and raised $345 million at a $1.4 billion valuation. Morocco’s Cash Plus, another fintech, was listed in Casablanca and raised $82.5 million at a $550 million valuation. Their debuts came after years without an African tech initial public offering (IPO) and helped restore confidence in African startups.

These listings fed rising confidence, as both stocks opened strongly in their home markets, suggesting public investors are again open to pricing African fintech risk. African startups also raised $2.8 billion by the end of 2025, a 50% rise from the previous year, adding to signs that the deal market is moving again.

1. Flutterwave ($3 billion)

Flutterwave, Africa’s largest payments startup, sits at the top at $3 billion, although the company has not shared any new valuation numbers in over three years. This valuation is based on its February 2022 Series D, which raised $250 million.

It has kept its footing through steady gains in payment volume and improved margins. By mid-2025, it had nearly doubled monthly profit levels compared to the year before. Its push into remittances in Europe and the US shows where it sees the next wave of demand, though licensing troubles in Kenya remain a hurdle.

1. OPay ($2.7-$3 billion)

OPay follows closely behind with a value near the same mark. Opera, which owns 9.4% of OPay, disclosed in its 2024 SEC filings that its stake was worth $258.3 million, implying an OPay valuation between $2.7 billion and $3 billion. 

OPay gained ground during Nigeria’s 2023 cash shortage and has stayed on that path through a large agent network and over 20 million daily active users. Its cost structure and reach make it one of the few large consumer fintech firms in the region that can post stable profits.

1. Wave ($1.7 billion)

Senegal’s Wave holds the next major spot at $1.7 billion, its valuation after it raised $200 million in a Series A round in 2021. It changed the mobile-money market in Francophone West Africa with a low-fee model that chipped away at telecom incumbents. Its steady revenue, broad user base and ability to raise debt in 2025 helped it keep its valuation, even as many peers lost ground.

1. TymeBank ($1.5 billion)

Tyme became Africa’s ninth unicorn in December 2024, after raising $250 million in Series D led by Brazilian neobank Nubank at a $1.5 billion valuation. Tyme runs TymeBank in South Africa and GoTyme in the Philippines, using a hybrid model: fully digital accounts onboarded through thousands of in-store kiosks at retailers like Pick’n Pay and The Foschini Group. The group passed 15–17 million customers across South Africa and the Philippines and reached profitability in its home market before raising the D round, which will fund expansion into more Southeast Asian markets.

1. Andela (about $1.5 billion)

Andela sits near the same range as TymeBank. Originally a “hire, train, deploy” model for junior African developers, Andela has morphed into a global marketplace matching experienced engineers in emerging markets with international companies. Like Flutterwave, its $1.5 billion valuation has not been updated in over three years. 

1. MNT-Halan (over $1 billion)

Egypt’s MNT-Halan became a unicorn in early 2023 after raising about $400 million (equity plus securitised debt) at a post-money valuation of roughly $1 billion. The company originally combined ride-hailing and logistics with micro-lending but has since focused on lending-led financial services, disbursing over $2 billion in loans to consumers and micro-entrepreneurs and layering on wallets and e-commerce.

A follow-on $157.5 million round in 2024 did not publicly disclose a new valuation, so the $1 billion mark from 2023 remains the last known figure.

1. Moniepoint (over $1 billion)

Moniepoint joined the unicorn club in October 2024, when it raised $110 million in Series C from DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod and others. The company runs one of Nigeria’s largest agent-banking and POS networks while also offering business and personal bank accounts, lending, remittances and business software. At the time of the 2024 round, Moniepoint said it processed over 1 billion transactions worth more than $22 billion monthly, with annualised revenue above $100 million and profitability.

1. Interswitch (about $1 billion)

Interswitch is Africa’s oldest tech unicorn. In November 2019, Visa acquired a minority stake in Interswitch at a $1 billion valuation. The company holds a central role in Nigeria’s payments system, operating at a different scale and age than most firms on this list.

Founded in 2002, Interswitch built an electronic payment switching infrastructure and the Verve card scheme and remains a central B2B payments infrastructure player across the continent. Because it has not gone public and no subsequent deal has disclosed a different valuation, $1 billion remains the last known external valuation. 

1. Palmpay ($800 million)

PalmPay’s last known valuation is between $800 million and $900 million, based on its 2021 $100 million Series A. 

PalmPay runs a consumer digital wallet and banking app across Africa (mainly Nigeria), offering peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, airtime, savings and merchant payments. It has raised about $140 million across two rounds and is now profitable and raising again to deepen its presence in Nigeria, expand B2B products and enter more markets.

1. Moove ($750 million)

Moove sits at $750 million, though it is courting a larger $300 million round that could lift that figure. It finances vehicles for ride-hailing workers, pulling repayments straight from driver earnings. The model is capital-heavy, yet Moove has raised more than $1 billion in debt and is pushing into the US, UAE and India.

1. Yassir ($600 million)

Algeria’s Yassir, valued between $600 million and $800 million according to TechCrunch, leads ride-hailing and delivery in North Africa. Its position is firm in markets that foreign rivals avoid or enter slowly.

1. Wasoko-MaxAB ($625 million)

The joint entity formed by Wasoko and MaxAB is valued at about $625 million. Both faced pressure in the B2B retail space and merged in 2024 to cut costs and join markets, though integration risks remain.

1. M-KOPA ($500 million)

M-KOPA’s estimated range sits between $500 million and $600 million. It reached a profit in 2024, a rare feat for a company that finances hardware across millions of households. Its credit model, backed by IoT controls, limits defaults and helps attract debt investors.

1. Kuda (about $500 million)

Kuda’s last known valuation sits at $500 million. It grew early through digital accounts, but now competes with larger rivals that built major agent networks. A diaspora remittance play in the UK is its next push.

1. Chipper Cash (between $250-500 million)

Chipper Cash has taken the hardest hit in this list. It peaked at $2.2 billion during the 2021 surge but now stands closer to $250 million to $500 million, according to Forbes. The collapse of FTX and SVB, its key backers, cast a long shadow, and efforts to sell the company have not led to a deal. It still has millions of users, but it must prove it can turn a margin.

1. Yoco and Onafriq ($300 to $500 million)

Yoco and Onafriq close the list. Each is valued between $300 million and $500 million, per TechCrunch. Yoco builds payment tools for small businesses, whereas Onafriq connects mobile money and bank systems across countries so users and institutions can move funds. Both operate in payments, lending, distribution, and cross-platform connections, areas that have stayed steady even when fundraising slowed.

Most startups do not disclose their valuation 

One reason several companies on this list do not disclose valuations is that many raised their last priced rounds during the 2021 peak. Publishing new numbers now could show drops that could hurt fundraising, unsettle staff or weaken negotiations with partners. 

Others avoid public figures because they rely on debt, not equity, and prefer to keep attention on revenue rather than implied share prices. Some firms operating in fragile currency markets also find that releasing dollar figures invites unwelcome comparisons with past highs. 

Besides, private companies are under no obligation to share these numbers, so most choose to remain silent unless doing so serves a strategic need.

It is a fintech list, and Nigeria tops

Fifteen of the companies operate in payments, lending, banking, or related services. This tracks broader fundraising data, showing that African VC capital is heavily concentrated in financial services.

Additionally, Nigeria still produces the most prominent startups, yet currency strain forces local firms to grow far faster just to preserve dollar value. Egypt continues to attract capital through super-app and lending platforms. Kenya shows strength in asset finance and cross-border payments, while South Africa remains key in digital banking and merchant tools.