Nigeria startups raise $364.1m in August as Moove's $250m round drives rebound

Nigerian startups raised $364.1 million in August 2026, with 20 companies closing deals. That is a sharp jump from the $4.9 million raised by six startups in July 2026, and from the $20.1 million secured across three deals in August 2025.

The August figure is an increase of $359.2 million, or 7,330.6%, over July. The number of funded startups rose 233.3% month on month, from six to 20. Year on year, funding rose 1,711.4%, and the deal count climbed 566.7%, from three to 20.

The transactions covered logistics, fintech, deeptech, agriculture, healthcare, education and jobs placement, according to an analysis of disclosed deals compiled by Nairametrics Research.

Moove leads with $250m

Moove, the logistics and transport technology company, raised $250 million in a Series C round backed by Mubadala Investment Company, Woven Capital and Ion Pacific. The company was valued at about $2.1 billion after the transaction.

That single deal accounted for nearly 69% of all startup funding recorded in the month. Strip out Moove and August still produced roughly $114.1 million, well above both July 2026 and August 2025.

Jumia and Yellow Card add $90m

Jumia raised $50 million in a venture round involving the International Finance Corporation, Axian Telecom and other investors.

Yellow Card raised $40 million in a venture round backed by SC Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital and angel investors.

Together with Moove, the three companies accounted for $340 million, or more than 93.4% of the month's total.

Smaller rounds and grants

Terra Industries raised an additional $18 million, taking its seed round to $52 million. The defence technology startup drew funding from existing investors 8VC, Silent Ventures, Nova Global, Belief Capital and SV Angel, alongside new investor Norleo Space Investments and angel investor Grant Gordon. It plans to expand manufacturing capacity, accelerate deployments across the Global South, and grow its engineering, operations and business development teams.

Agritech firm ThriveAgric secured $3.9 million in debt financing from Anchoria Advisory Services Limited and other investors.

Pouchers raised $500,000, Blockops Network attracted $300,000 and Mathesis Analytics secured $200,000.

Grants dominated the deal count. Twelve startups, TrainDTrainer, Tallktu, Dawn AI Study, Efiwe, Ileemore Technologies, Skillup Africa, Lena, Heels and Tech, NursePadi, Skilladder AI, Lalitah and Ribara Analytica, each received $100,000 backed by Co-Creation Hub and Mastercard, a combined $1.2 million.

What it means

The rebound from $4.9 million in July to $364.1 million in August points to improved investor sentiment despite foreign exchange pressures and a tougher global venture capital market. The spread of capital across mobility, fintech, deeptech, agriculture, healthcare and education shows interest is not limited to one sector. Even so, three deals carried more than 93% of the total, a reminder that headline funding remains heavily dependent on a handful of large rounds.