Blockchain Funding Expands In Africa

Absa Group and CV VC have released the third African Blockchain Report that has shown how the continent’s share of global blockchain funding is expanding.

Dubbed the ‘CV VC African Blockchain Report’, it has shown an expansion despite global economic pressures, driven by regulatory advancements paving the way for a rebound in funding. The report further underscores blockchain’s contribution to driving African economies forward.

The impact of technology in Africa spans transparency, sustainability, data accountability, new service, and creator economies, and financial inclusion. The report has shown that Africa’s prominence in the global venture ecosystem has risen to reach an all-time high of 0.62 percent of all global venture deals.

Furthermore, despite a 64 percent global decline in blockchain funding in 2023, the first half of 2024 showed a more moderate 9 percent year-over-year decrease, signalling potential recovery.

In the first half of 2024, blockchain accounted for 6.4 percent of Africa’s total venture funding and 12.5 percent of all deals, surpassing global averages of 3.5 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively. This underscores Africa’s leadership in blockchain innovation and adoption

According to this report, African blockchain ventures also began to rebound, with $135.4 million raised from 17 deals in 2023, and $34.7 million from 12 deals in the first half of 2024, marking a 9 percent increase in deal volume from the previous year’s first half.

The report also details investment trends, showing a shift towards DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and Data Management, Verification, & Analytics in H1 2024, reflecting growing investor confidence in foundational blockchain technologies and financial solutions. Insights by NODO, the report’s regulatory research partner, highlight that previously, crypto was implicitly banned in 36 countries, now reduced to 8 indicating evolving stances.

The CEO of CV VC, Mathias Ruch, and the Head of Digital Assets at Absa Group, Rob Downes, emphasize blockchain’s transformative potential in Africa’s socioeconomic systems and financial sector. They foresee continued growth as regulations clarify and awareness of blockchain’s benefits expands.

“Africa’s vast natural asset, its people, coupled with the growing recognition of Africans’ technological ability, resilience, and spirit, positions blockchain as a pivotal tool to support socio-economic advancement, not just for Africa but as a solution to many of the ill winds blowing globally,” Ruch said.

“We expect to see blockchain-enabled use cases grow as regulations become clearer and awareness of the benefits grows among our customer base. The regulatory landscape is critical to our expanded participation, and there’s a great overview of it in this report, which we are very proud to co-publish with CV VC,” Downes added, on his part.