Small steps taken towards greater gender diversity in African startup ecosystem in last 2 years, says new report

Small steps have been taken towards greater gender diversity within the African tech startup ecosystem over the last two years, but much more needs to be done if anything close to parity is to be achieved, with funding for female-founded ventures still a major issue.

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That is according to the third edition of “Diversity Dividend: Exploring Gender Equality in the African Tech Ecosystem”, the regular deep-dive into the state of gender diversity in the African startup and VC ecosystems released by Disrupt Africa in partnership with Madica, Thinkroom and Jumpstarter Crowdfunding.

The report, the first edition of which was released in 2023, contains both quantitative and qualitative data – quantifying female founders in the ecosystem, as well as their access to funding and opportunities, and speaking to them – and investors – directly about their experiences within the ecosystem. It also features personalised case studies, and is free to download here.

The latest edition finds that some progress has been made when it comes to gender diversity in African tech since the last report was released in 2024, when it comes to representation within ventures at least. A total of 641 of the more than 3,000 startups sampled for the purposes of the publication had at least one female co-founder, a share of 19.2 per cent. This was up from 17.3 per cent in 2024 and 14.6 per cent in 2023.

The percentage of African startups led by a female CEO also increased, to 12.1 per cent in 2026 from 11.1 per cent in 2024 and 9.6 per cent in 2023. So when it comes to female representation within African tech startups, progress is being made towards parity, but the sector is still very far away from where it needs to be and female participation in the space is only increasing at a slow rate.

When it comes to funding, African tech has gone backwards from a gender perspective. Though up until 2023 funding for female led or co-founded startups had been slowly rising, since then it has declined. In 2024, 37 (18.5%) of funded startups had a woman on their founding team, down from 26.3 per cent in 2023, and 25 (12.5%) had a female CEO, down from 15.3 per cent.

That trend continued in 2025, with only 16.9 per cent of funded startups co-founded by a woman, and just 9.6 per cent led by a female CEO. It is too early to say what the whole of 2026 will bring, but so far it is a mixed bag. Of the 60 startups funded in the first five months of the year, 11 (18.3%) had a female co-founder, which is up share-wise on 2025, and five (8.3%) a female CEO, down share-wise on last year.

“This third edition of our pioneering research publication, “Diversity Dividend”, tracks small, yet significant, steps towards a more gender diverse African tech startup ecosystem. But much more needs to be done to ensure the sector moves more quickly towards the gender parity it needs to really scale and succeed, and the funding figures are certainly a concern. Diversity is not going to increase if diverse startups can’t access the funding they need to grow,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

The report was released in partnership with industry stakeholders, led by Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment programme dedicated to empowering underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders. 

“We’ve heard it before, and we’ll continue to hear it. Getting past representation and specifically gender equality requires much more than “choosing diversity”. It necessitates creating a real environment for equitable opportunities to thrive. For us at Madica, that means doing more than selecting at the investment stage; it’s being deliberate about mentorship, advisory, exposure to advanced ecosystems, tactical support, and most importantly, seeking guidance on what matters directly from female founders and executives. This report highlights the need to provide more holistic support at every stage,” said Akinyi W. Ooko Ombaka, head of portfolio success at Madica.

Other partners include African entrepreneurship and innovation firm Thinkroom, and reward-based crowdfunding platform Jumpstarter Crowdfunding.

“This report shows real progress with more women founding and leading African tech companies, yet the funding is not moving with the higher representation numbers. That is commercially irrational. Diversity is not about lowering the bar. It is about widening the field so that excellence is less likely to be missed. The work now is to turn representation into capital for higher returns at scale,” said Catherine Young, founder of Thinkroom.

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