Time flies with great content! Renew in to keep enjoying all our premium content.
Prime
Four startups get 70pc of Kenya’s venture capital funding
The four companies have consistently attracted high volume venture capital funding, putting Kenya among the leading startup funding destinations on the continent.
Four startups got more two thirds of the Sh141 billion in venture capital funding that came to Kenya in 2025, pointing to a heavy concentration of financing within a few firms as several others struggled to raise any money.
Last year, Burn Manufacturing, electric motorcycle maker Spiro, and off-grid solar firms D.Light and Sun King together raised Sh98.5 billion ($646 million), 69.8 percent of the total funds raised by Kenya-based startups during the year, according to data from the Africa Venture Capital Association (AVCA).
The four companies, all of which are in the fast growing clean energy industry, have consistently attracted high volume venture capital funding, putting Kenya among the leading startup funding destinations on the continent.
The concentration of new funding among the four came as some startups closed down due to a funding drought even as Kenya saw a slight jump in the number of funding deals to 65 from 60 in 2024.
D.Light’s Sh39 billion ($300 million) in debt financing raised from French VC fund Mirova topped the VC funding for Kenyan startups in 2025. It was also Kenya’s most funded startup in 2024 after raising over Sh24 billion in debt and grant financing.
Sun King, the major rival of D.Light in the off-grid solar products market in Kenya, raised Sh35 billion in debt and equity financing, the second largest in the country. It raised money from the International Finance Corporation and London-based VC Lightrock.
Electric motorcycles manufacturers raised Sh12.9 billion while clean cooking startup Burn Manufacturing raised Sh11.6 billion, mostly in debt from the Trade and Development Bank.
The increased funding to these Kenyan startups came amid increased financing to the clean energy and climate technology industry, which accounted for 17 percent of VC funding across Africa in 2025.
“Artificial Intelligence and Clean and ClimateTech consolidated their ascent into the top tier,” argued AVCA in its latest Africa Venture Capital Activity report.
“Together, the two verticals captured over one-third of tech-enabled deal activity, reflecting both the rapid diffusion of AI across sectors and sustained investor focus on energy transition, climate resilience, and resource efficiency.”
During the same year, several startups in Kenya collapsed after failing to raise follow-up funding to sustain operations. Startups like Antara Health, Lipa Later, and Bonto shut down operations due to funding constraints.
At Sh141 billion ($1.094 billion), Kenya maintained its position as the leading destination for venture funding in Africa, far ahead of Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria, which attracted Sh78 billion, Sh68 billion, and Sh37 billion respectively.
But unlike Kenya, financial technology companies remain the leading recipients of VC funding in the peer countries.
