Top 5 Most Funded Nigerian Startup in 2023

In recent years, Nigeria's startup ecosystem has seen a surge in funding, igniting innovative ideas and propelling ventures toward monumental success. Amongst these emerging stars are the top five most funded Nigerian startups in 2023, representing various industries, from fintech to health-tech and e-commerce. These enterprises have secured significant investments, enabling them to scale, expand, and revolutionize their respective sectors. 

Let's delve into the listing of these startups and explore the impact of their funding.

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1. MOOVE

Moove, a Nigerian mobility fintech startup established in 2020 by Delano and Jide Odunsi, secured a substantial $76 million funding round in August 2023. The funding included $28 million in equity and $10 million in venture debt from various funds. An additional $38 million, previously undisclosed, was raised in the past year. Moove aims to build an expansive tech-driven financial services platform for mobility entrepreneurs. This financing will drive its expansion into new markets across Europe, the Middle East, and Afica, while targeting profitability within 2024.

2. SABI

Sabi, a B2B e-commerce platform headquartered in Lagos, secured $38 million in Series B funding in May 2023, valuing the company at $300 million. It was launched in 2020 and focuses on providing digital commerce infrastructure to Africa's informal economy, helping millions of SMEs. 

Their platform facilitates various users, including merchants, importers, exporters, distributors, and manufacturers, enabling business growth by offering technology-driven solutions for sourcing, collateral management, and traceability.

3. LemFi

Nigerian global payments firm, LemFi, secured a substantial $33M Series A funding round in August 2023 led by Left Lane Capital. Launched in 2020, LemFi simplifies remittance payments across Africa and beyond, offering multi-currency accounts for immigrants to manage, send, and receive money across 30+ countries.

With the funds raised, the fintech startup announced plans to expand its product offering to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as innovate new product offerings according to the needs of its users.

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4. Helium Health

Helium Health, a Nigerian health-tech startup, raised $30M in Series B funding in June. The funding round was led by AXA IM Alts, with participation from investors, including Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Flatworld Partners, LCY Group, WTI, and AAIC.

Helium Health announced that it will use the funding to expand HeliumCredit, empowering African healthcare with digital finance solutions.

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5. Nomba

A fintech startup, Lomba, secured $30M pre-Series B investment. It was led by Base10 Partners, alongside Helios Digital Ventures, Shopify, Partech, and Khosla Ventures. The startup shared that it would craft tailored payment solutions for African businesses. 

Initially known as Kudi and founded in 2016 by Yinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin, Lomba started as a chatbot simplifying payments. Now, it's on a mission to revolutionize payments for African enterprises.

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