Climate tech, the field of technologies and solutions that are increasingly adapted to tackle the climate crisis, has emerged as Africa’s top venture funding sector, confining fintech, which has dominated the scene for years, to the back seat.

The sector accounted for less than a quarter of the aggregate venture capital that flowed into Africa in the nine years to 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by London-based research house Briter.

Climate tech’s role in venture funding became particularly pronounced in 2025, when it alone contributed 40 per cent, or $1.5 billion, compared with other years in the near-decade period under review, the study said. That was up from 13 per cent or $206 million in 2016.

“This growth has been accompanied by a rapid expansion in the number of funded companies and deals,” the report titled “The State of ClimateTech in Africa 2.0: Moving Beyond the Headline Numbers,” stated.

“Between 2016 and 2025, ClimateTech companies raised approximately $6.35 billion across 779 companies,” the research, conducted by Briter, conducted along with Catalyst Fund, BFA Global, FSD Africa and Africa: The Big Deal, added.

Nigeria’s growing profile

The report indicated that Nigeria, Africa’s largest nation by population, is quietly building a reputation as a climate-solution powerhouse, second only to Kenya. It attracted 12.9 per cent of the continent’s total investment between 2019 and 2025.

That said, Kenya, which tops the group of the three largest markets, which also includes South Africa, took more than half of the pool. It implies Nigeria needs to cover a vast swathe of ground within the ecosystem in the years ahead to stand a chance of leading Africa.

The country remains the fintech capital of Africa for years, with fintech revenue currently standing above $14 billion at a compounded annual growth rate of 31.4 per cent. The prestige has ridden a prolonged payments-led boom that has produced unicorns like Flutterwave, OPay and Moniepoint, with valuations above $1 billion.

Nevertheless, the report’s emphasis on climate tech as the newest sweetheart of offshore investors means that sector may end up as the leader of the broader tech industry in a matter of years, provided the current funding tempo doesn’t slow.

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It highlighted areas such as logistics, farmer-to-market links, and post-harvest loss reduction as bright spots where Nigeria can leverage its potential in climate tech.

A case in point is Lagos-based Winich Farms and a generation of new platforms, which it said have drawn inspiration from Twiga Foods, a mobile-enabled B2B supply platform operating from Kenya.

Winich and those others, the research said, are forging ahead where Twiga faced difficulties in its early days, as they are now incorporating market access, embedded finance and logistics, helping them avert costs that otherwise could have gone into building physical infrastructure. Walking that path has also cleared the hurdle for Winich Farm and the rest to link farmers up with off-takers, “rather than assuming demand will follow supply,” it noted.