African business closures 2025

At a Glance

Venture-backed startups struggled as funding dried up amid rising global interest rates.
Incumbent firms faced regulatory pressure and soaring operational costs, forcing market exits.
Nigeria and Kenya led closures, showing scale vulnerability in Africa’s business landscape.

2025 marked a challenging year for Africa’s business landscape, with at least 25 companies shutting down amid funding shortages, rising costs, and regulatory pressures.

From fintech startups in Nigeria to manufacturing firms in Kenya and South Africa, these closures spanned sectors including education, healthcare, logistics, oil marketing, and automotive.

Currency depreciation, tighter global capital flows, and weaker consumer demand exposed fragile balance sheets. Investors and market watchers now see governance discipline, cash-flow management, and strategic resilience as critical to surviving Africa’s harsher business environment.

From these 25, Shore Africa showed that Nigeria saw at least six fintech startups close operations in 2025. Companies like Joovlin, Lidya, and Okra struggled with funding shortages, weak adoption, and regulatory hurdles. Investors retreated from early-stage consumer lending and open finance platforms, signaling caution across Africa’s startup ecosystem.

Automotive dealerships and construction materials firms, including CMC Motors and Roofings Kenya, shut down due to high interest rates, weakening consumer demand, and operational cost pressures.

The 2025 closures highlight the importance of governance, cash-flow discipline, and realistic growth projections. Survival now outweighs valuation and expansion narratives in Africa’s volatile business environment.

1. Edukoya (Nigeria)
Founded by Honey Ogundeyi
Edtech platform that shut down operations in February 2025 amid funding and market‑adoption challenges.

2. Joovlin (Nigeria, Fintech)
Co-founded by Kingsley Nwose, Yusuf Olalere, and Lucky Mark in 2020
Joovlin was a Nigerian fintech startup that provided supply chain and payment tools for micro-suppliers and retailers. Shutdown in January after failing to secure follow-on funding, highlighting investor retreat from early-stage consumer lending models.

3. Bento Africa (Nigeria, HRtech)
Founded by Ebun Okubanjo and Chidozie Okonkwo
Operations halted amid internal disputes and reputational strain, which include the resignation of the CEO, disrupting payroll services for thousands of SMEs.

4. Lidya (Nigeria, Fintech)
Founded by former Jumia executives Tunde Kehinde and Ercin Eksin in 2016
Lidya was a prominent Nigerian fintech company that provided collateral-free loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but officially ceased all operations in October 2025 due to severe financial distress. Exited quietly after expansion missteps, reflecting pressure on alternative lenders reliant on foreign capital.

5. Medsaf (Nigeria, Healthtech)
Co-founded by Vivian Nwakah, who served as CEO, along with pharmacist Temitope Awosika, and Joao Pinheiro, the CTO
Shut down as logistics costs and weak margins overwhelmed its hospital-supply aggregation model. The Healthtech pharmaceutical supply chain startup shut down after debt and investor pullouts.

6. Afristay (South Africa, Travel)
Founded in 2006 by local entrepreneurs Oliver Bryant and Ric Meulemans, with the company was re-launched under CEO Rupert Bryant (also an investor) from 2014.
The Travel/accommodation marketplace closed its business operations in early 2025 as travel demand softened and funding options narrowed.

7. Heroshe (Nigeria, E-commerce/Logistics)
Founded by Osinachi Ukomadu (CEO) and Chichi Ukomadu (COO)
Ceased operations after scaling challenges in cross-border shipping intensified.

8. FanBants (Nigeria, FanTech)
Folowosele, an former Nike employee, launched the fantasy sports startup in 2021
Closed without public explanation, emblematic of fragile niche digital platforms.

9. PwC (9 African countries)
PwC exited nine Sub-Saharan African countries in April 2025 after a strategic review, including Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, DRC, Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Guinea, Senegal, and Equatorial Guinea, citing a need to focus on larger, more profitable markets amid global pressures and internal restructuring, with operations continuing in key hubs like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Withdrew from select markets in March following a global strategic review and governance reset.

10. CMC Motors (Kenya, Automotive)
CMC Motors to cease operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in January as vehicle demand weakened under high interest rates.

11. D.T. Dobie (Kenya, Automotive)
Entered liquidation after prolonged losses, ending a long-standing dealership presence.

12. Caltex House Service Station (Kenya)
Dissolved amid declining fuel margins and operational pressure.

13. Bank Al-Habib (Kenya)
Exited in May after reassessing regional strategy and scale limitations.

14. MRS Oil Nigeria Plc
Delisted in July following restructuring, reflecting stress in downstream oil marketing.

15. Notore Chemical Industries Plc
Removed from the NGX as debt burdens overwhelmed fertilizer operations.

16. Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc
Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc was delisted from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on January 31, 2025, due to prolonged regulatory non-compliance, including operating below listing standards, insufficient disclosure, and significant governance issues. The company’s securities are no longer available for trading on the public market.

17. Union Homes Savings & Loans Plc
Exited the exchange after failing to meet capital and reporting standards.

18. Okra (Nigeria)
Okra, the Nigerian open finance data infrastructure company, was co-founded by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside in 2019.
Open‑finance API provider that ceased operations around mid‑2025 after regulatory and adoption headwinds.

19. Lipa Later (Kenya)
Lipa Later (Kenya) was founded by Eric Muli and Michael Maina, launching in 2018 as a Pan-African buy-now-pay-later fintech platform to provide installment payment solutions for consumers and businesses, with Muli serving as the Group CEO and Maina as COO
BNPL fintech was placed under administration and effectively shut down in March 2025 due to funding shortfalls.

20. Roofings Kenya Limited (Kenya)
Roofings Kenya Limited, a key part of the East African construction materials giant Roofings Group, was founded by Ugandan industrialist and entrepreneur Sikander Lalani.
Steel and construction materials manufacturer announced a full shutdown of operations effective early 2026 (redundancies began in late 2025).

21. CMC Motors Group (East Africa)
Cooper Motor Corporation wound down operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2025 due to unsustainable costs.

22. Angaza Kenya Ltd (Kenya)

Energy and solar products social enterprise began voluntary liquidation in late 2025.

23. Amsa Long Steel Business (South Africa)
Associated with ArcelorMittal South Africa, this business pulled the plug on its long steel operations, effectively winding down major production.