After defying the global funding slowdown of 2022, VC investments in African startups dropped considerably last year, mirroring the situation in other regions where capital taps were significantly turned off. Data trackers set the amount raised by African startups in 2023 at between $2.9 billion and $4.1 billion, from $4.6 billion to $6.5 billion in total funding the previous year. With equity funding becoming rare, several startups found it hard to survive, leading them to either cut down their teams or scale down operations and, in some cases, close shop.