2025 was a blockbuster year for African tech-the kind of year where some startups soared with massive funding rounds, some got scooped up in major acquisitions, and a few promising names unexpectedly bowed out.
TechawkNG covered it all, and now we’re wrapping the year with the highlights, the shakeups, and the surprises that defined the African technology landscape.
Let’s dive in!
1. Funding & Investment Activity in African Tech
Major funding rounds and investment news dominated TechawkNG in 2025, reflecting upbeat investor interest in African startups:
- Spiro, an electric mobility and battery-swapping provider, raised $100 million to expand across Africa — one of the year’s largest clean-tech financings.
- Moniepoint, a leading African fintech company, has secured $90 million to deepen its expansion and support small businesses.
- Global Shop Group acquired ANKA, signalling consolidation in e-commerce infrastructure.
- Madica expanded into two new AI startups, showing early-stage interest in frontier tech.
- Coverage also included smaller funding stories like Rana Energy’s $3m and acquisitions like Logidoo’s West African expansion.
Trend takeaway: 2025 saw strong capital flows into fintech, clean energy, AI, mobility, and e-commerce infrastructure, signalling investor confidence and ecosystem maturation.
2. Startup and Business Ecosystem Insights
In addition to specific deals, TechawkNG highlighted broader business and regulatory developments:
- A feature exploring accessing funding for Nigerian startups and strategies founders can use in a shifting landscape.
- Business-related coverage included Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) announcing delisting of dormant companies and fee changes, which impact many startups and SMEs.
- The CAC also issued a final ultimatum for POS operators to regularise their business by January 1, 2026, or face immediate shutdown and possible prosecution.
Trend takeaway: 2025 coverage blended narrative (how to secure funding) with policy and business environment reporting — useful context for entrepreneurs.
3. Tech, Innovation, and Consumer Tech
TechawkNG also reported on global and consumer technology developments:
- AWS outage that disrupted major services like Snapchat and Canva showed the platform’s reach beyond Africa to global tech news.
- Apple 2025 product news, including the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, new AirPods, and Apple Watch features like hypertension notifications.
- Lifestyle and tech tips — such as automation features on phones -also featured.
Trend takeaway: TechawkNG balanced Africa-centric startup funding coverage with wider tech trends and product insights.
4. Structural Shifts & Sector Impact
Some stories showed deeper sector impacts:
- Lidya, a digital lending platform that raised $16.45 m, shut down operations, a cautionary moment for fintech.
- bolttech, a global insurtech platform, acquired mTek to accelerate its growth in Africa — part of a broader push into the region’s tech and telecom value chain.
- In a major global industry shakeup, Netflix completed its takeover of Warner Bros. in a deal valued at about $83 billion, reshaping entertainment, streaming, and content creation worldwide.
- Media giant Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros., fueling strategic competition before Netflix’s acquisition.
Trend takeaway: Even as funding rises, not all ventures thrive — reflecting both opportunity and risk in the ecosystem.
5. Startup Shutdowns & Market Exits in 2025
Although TechawkNG itself reported some specific shutdowns, broader reporting shows several African startups closed operations in 2025, reflecting market pressures like funding constraints, macroeconomic challenges, or operational hurdles:
- Edukoya shut down in February 2025 despite strong early adoption and a record $3.5 m pre-seed raise. Poor infrastructure, high device costs, and limited mass adoption were cited as key barriers. Techawk
- Joovlin quietly ceased operations in January 2025 after struggling to secure follow-on funding and sustainable revenue despite early traction.
- Okra, a pioneer in open banking APIs, was forced to shut down mid-2025 after years of operation and $16.5 m in funding — a notable closure given its role in the fintech ecosystem.
- Kenyan BNPL startup Lipa Later went into administration in March 2025, unable to sustain operations despite raising roughly $16.6m.
- Afristay closed its accommodation booking platform in early 2025 after dealing with extremely low booking volumes.
- Medsafe shut down after failing to raise new capital and losing momentum on growth plans, despite over $7 m in funding.
While not all covered directly on TechawkNG, the ecosystem saw 35+ acquisitions (including strategic buyouts and mergers) across African tech in 2025 — a sign of rising consolidation as companies aim for scale and exits.
2025 was a year of big wins, big exits, and big lessons for African tech. TechawkNG’s coverage reflected a continent in transition — one where innovation is thriving, but competition is fierce, and sustainability matters more than ever. If this year is anything to go by, 2026 might be even more explosive.
