Africa’s tech ecosystem staged a major investment rebound in 2025. By August, the funding tally had topped $2 billion for over 500 deals. Yet, for all the surge in venture capital flows, women founders are receiving only a fraction of that money.
Male-led startups captured between 75% of all funding raised so far in 2025, leaving the remainder shared between women-led and mixed gender teams, according to the latest Africa Venture Pulse report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm focused on emerging markets. In 2025 alone, the over $2 billion raised so far has flowed primarily to male-led teams, with about 10% shared by companies that include at least one female founder.
The figures point to a recurring problem in Africa’s tech ecosystem: despite gender-focused funds and support programs, most venture capital continues to flow to male-led startups. In 2024, women-led startups raised only $48 million, representing a scant 2% of total VC funding.
In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 30% of roles in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) sectors are held by women, putting the region marginally ahead of the global average. Additionally, Africa has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in the world, with over a quarter of all businesses being either started or run by women. Yet in Africa, only about 20% of tech startups have at least one woman cofounder, with only 10% being led by women.
This persistent gap in representation goes back to the startup pipeline. Some of the 10% women-led startups operate outside fintech, the industry that attracts the largest VC cheques. Even when women break into competitive sectors, the support skews towards grants, leaving many unable to scale. The gap can also be both social and institutional.
Despite the continent’s strong record of women in STEM education, there is a marked drop-off in participation when the pathway from education to leadership is traced. 47% of STEM graduates from African universities are women, but this number dwindles to 23% when these graduates move into the tech workforce, and dwindles more when these women move into tech leadership.
The cost of this systematic gap is felt beyond the venture boardroom. A 2019 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report states that Africa forfeits an estimated $95 billion in economic potential due to gender inequality. If the representation of women-led startups in VC boardrooms continues to dwindle, what’s at stake is the continent’s resilience and ability to benefit from grassroots solutions.
Still, there are signs of hope. VC firms like Janngo Capital, led by Fatoumata Bâ, have made gender-lens investing their core mission. The company has invested over $5 million in innovative startups, with 56% of its portfolio companies being women-led. Aruwa Capital and Alitheia IDF are growing portfolios packed with female entrepreneurs, while accelerators like FirstCheck Africa offer early-stage VC investments in African tech startups with at least one female founder or co-founder.
The gender funding gap is a verdict on the African ecosystem’s readiness for real inclusion. It shows that despite all the progress and optimism, Africa still lags in inclusion. Every year, the gap persists; women founders still only get 1 in 10 dollars, and that is not enough to transform Africa’s development story.
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