2022 was undoubtedly one unforgettable year for the tech industry in Africa and many parts of the world. Despite the unexpected layoff of workers that defined the year, the African tech ecosystem, more particularly, the Nigeria tech space surprisingly fared pretty well.
Here are some of the biggest news in the Nigerian tech ecosystem for the year 2022;
More fundings
More and more, Nigeria and Africa as a whole keep growing in attractiveness to capital investors. This is because of the numerous tech talents that emanate out of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria is also one out of the big four tech countries on the continent.
According to a report, 383 tech startups raised over $2 billion between 2015 and 2022. 28 Nigerian startups raised their first $1m+ round in the first half of 2022, crowning the country as one with the most funding in Africa.
Although the later months of the year were quieter, Nigerian startups raised $16 million in November, amongst other deals.
Massive acquisitions
In February and July, Nigeria recorded massive acquisition deals with the world’s digital infrastructure company, Equinix Inc, acquiring MainOne for $320 million and Autochek, the Nigerian pan-African automotive technology company, acquiring CoinAfrique, a classified marketplace in francophone African countries. Also, mPharma acquired a major stake in Nigeria’s leading pharmacy brand, HealthPlus in September, while Nigerian credit-led SME FinTech startup, Payhippo acquired Maritime Microfinance Bank (MFB) in November.
Flutterwave
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) certified Nigerian payment unicorn, Flutterwave, with a Switching and Processing Licence. The highly rated licence enables the FinTech company to offer transactional services to other payment gateway providers, customers, and stakeholders of the sector without a third party.
- The license also enables flutterwave to perform services, including card processing, non-bank acquiring, inter agency banking and payment gateway services.
Startup bill
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami announced that the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the startup bill into law. This initiative aims at creating a friendly environment for startups in the country to flourish. By the bill, Nigeria joined Tunisia and Senegal on the list of African countries to have passed the startup bill.