African startups raised $224 million in July 2026, bringing the year-to-date total to $1.66 billion. With Gotion Power Morocco leading at $114 million, the electric vehicle and clean energy sector has emerged as the continent's new funding powerhouse.
A month dominated by EVs and clean energy
Out of the 37 transactions tracked by TC Insights in July, clean energy and electric vehicles captured the largest share of capital. Gotion Power Morocco alone secured $114 million for battery gigafactory construction — the month's biggest deal. M-Kopa (Kenya) raised $30 million for its e-bike and smartphone asset finance model, and BioLite (Kenya) attracted $10.7 million for clean cookstoves.
Debt as the dominant financing engine
July's financing structure reveals a clear trend: 75.2% of funds raised ($168.55 million) came from debt, versus just 24.8% from equity. This heavy reliance on borrowing reflects the ecosystem's growing maturity — established companies prefer to preserve equity and use debt to accelerate growth.
Kenya: the continent's funding centre of gravity
With M-Kopa, BioLite, CrossBoundary Energy, Peach Cars and Fuzu, Kenya accounted for five of the eight major July transactions. Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria complete the picture of active markets.
$1.66 billion in seven months
With $1.66 billion raised from January to July 2026 — already above H1 2026's $1.44 billion total — Africa is on track to break annual records if momentum holds. The first half was itself driven by EV giant Spiro, which raised $320 million in several tranches, including $215 million in equity in June alone.
Why it matters
The rise of electric vehicles in African funding is not incidental — it reflects a strategic repositioning by investors toward high-impact sectors (mobility, clean energy) with strong long-term return potential. For Indian Ocean markets and regional emerging economies, the key question remains: when will this capital turn toward Mauritius, Madagascar, or the Comoros?