Q4 2022: A Record With an Asterisk
The African growth capital quarter in review — funding flows, instruments, and what it meant for founders and investors, from the Caban research desk.
1. $4.6 billion — the peak on paper
2022 closed as the record year, with 97 ventures raising $10 million-plus rounds. But the total was built on a booming first half; the exit quarter told the opposite story.
2. Momentum firmly negative
Quarter-on-quarter flows had declined through H2, setting the entry trajectory for 2023.
3. The Big Four consolidate
Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa absorbed the overwhelming majority of capital — concentration that would only intensify through the winter.
Reading this as a founder? The through-line of every quarter since 2022 is that preparation, not timing, decides who raises. See how investors would read your business today. As an investor? Our pipeline is built on exactly these dynamics.