Nairobi — Mombasa County has recorded an improvement in its global startup ranking this year, with the coastal city moving up 22 places, latest data shows.

The StartupBlink Startup Ecosystem Report shows Mombasa ranked 894 globally in 2026, up from 916 in 2025.

Nairobi, however, dropped to 116 globally in 2026 from 107 last year.

The report said Kenya's startup ecosystem remains highly concentrated in Nairobi, with the capital's total score more than 36 times that of Mombasa.

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"The ecosystem is highly centralized: Nairobi's total score is more than 36 times that of Mombasa, indicating limited scale in secondary cities. Developing stronger secondary hubs remains a key structural priority," the report shows.

Kenya ranked 61st globally and second in Africa in the startup ecosystem rankings, a decline of three places from last year.

"It maintains clear leadership in Eastern Africa, with a total score 2.6 times that of second-ranked Mauritius, yet records -0.2% growth, down from 33.5% last year and the lowest rate in Eastern Africa."

South Africa ranked first in Africa at 52 globally, followed by Egypt at 65, Cape Verde at 74, Tunisia at 84, Mauritius at 85 and Ghana at 87.

Kenyan startups raised Sh16.3 billion in the first half of this year, slightly lower than the Sh17 billion raised during the same period last year, according to Africa: The Big Deal.

The country ranked third in Africa for startup funding, behind Egypt, which attracted Sh42.3 billion, and Nigeria, which raised Sh32.8 billion.