Methodology: Deal Signal and Deal Data
How the Africa Markets Deal Signal score (0–100) is calculated, and where the amounts, valuations and dates on our deal profiles come from.
The Deal Signal
Each deal profile carries a Deal Signal from 0 to 100. It is a transparent measure of how much public information and capital sits behind a deal, so deals can be ranked and compared. It is not a rating, a forecast or a recommendation, and says nothing about whether a deal is a good investment.
The score is the sum of five parts:
| Part | Points | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Round size | 0–35 | The amount raised in US dollars, on a logarithmic scale: $100,000 or less scores 0 and $500 million or more scores 35. About $1 million scores 9, $10 million 19 and $100 million 28. An undisclosed amount scores 0. |
| Stage | 4–20 | Series D, Series E, growth and pre-IPO rounds 20; Series C 18; Series B 16; acquisitions, secondaries and private placements 14; Series A 13; debt 10; seed 8; grants and angel rounds 4; anything else, including undisclosed, 6. |
| Investor backing | 0–20 | 3 points for each named investor, plus 5 if a lead investor is named, up to 20. |
| Recency | 0–15 | 15 if the deal was announced within 30 days of the score being calculated, then falling evenly to 0 at about two years (730 days). An unknown date scores 0. |
| News coverage | 0–10 | 2 points for each news article listed on the profile, up to 10. |
The score is calculated when a profile is researched and again whenever our team saves it. Recency is measured on that date, so the score of an older profile is not recalculated every day. Each profile shows its breakdown under "How it's scored".
Example. A $20 million Series B with four named investors, one of them the lead, announced 90 days before scoring and covered by four news articles: size 22 + stage 16 + backing 17 + recency 14 + coverage 8 = 77.
Where the figures on a deal profile come from
Deal profiles are compiled from public sources with AI research and reviewed by our team before publication; see our editorial policy.
- Amount. The amount reported when the round was announced. Amounts in local currency are converted to US dollars at the rate reported at the time, with a note beside the figure. If no amount was disclosed, the profile says so.
- Valuation. Shown only when a valuation has been publicly reported, with a note on its basis (for example "post-money" or who reported it). It is the valuation at that round and may not reflect current value.
- Announced. The date the round was first publicly announced or reported, not necessarily the date it closed.
- Total raised. The company's total funding to date as publicly reported.
- Sources. The sources used are listed on each profile under "Sources" and "In the news".
Figures are as reported at announcement and may not reflect current value. Where sources disagree we prefer primary sources, usually the company's own announcement.
Other figures on the site
- The unicorn list and valuations on the home page come from Afridigest's list of African unicorns, with valuations updated from later public reporting where available. Each is the last publicly reported funding round, with its year.
- Prices in the trading demonstration, and in the product previews on the home page, are produced by the demonstration. They are not valuations of the companies concerned and not prices at which anything could be bought or sold.
To report an error, see our editorial policy.