Africa’s enterprise capital companies (VCs) are more and more taking the lead in funding rounds, marking a shift to higher native involvement within the continent’s quickly increasing startup ecosystem.
In October 2024, Moniepoint achieved unicorn standing after closing a $110 million Collection C from Lagos-based Verod Capital, which joined Google’s Africa Funding Fund and Lightrock as traders.
In latest months, notable offers have highlighted how homegrown traders are backing innovation throughout fintech, clear power, e-commerce, and human useful resource (HR) expertise. These transactions underscore how African or Nigerian VCs are transferring past seed bets to play a extra decisive function in scaling startups.
“Whereas international traders usually look ahead to indicators earlier than backing African startups, the actual catalyst is native enterprise capital companies. Native VCs should take step one, which isn’t simply with mentorship or coaching, however with precise capital, to point out that African startups are viable. As soon as that confidence is constructed, international funds will comply with,” mentioned Frank Samuel, funding affiliate at Sahara Influence Ventures.
Learn additionally: Emerging cyber threats targeting African startups
He cited the benefit native traders carry, which is their deep understanding of the context, noting that they know the networks, the federal government touchpoints, and the partnerships that may unlock development alternatives for startups.
“In contrast to worldwide funds, which add worth when startups scale globally, native VCs are those that may navigate ministries, state establishments, and technical financing to help innovation on the bottom. That’s why the subsequent large funding wave in Nigeria and throughout Africa can be led by native enterprise capitalists,” Samuel said.
Abiodun Lawal, principal at Heave Ventures mentioned, “Whereas international traders include money and little oversight, native traders have the chance to ‘transcend money.’
“Native traders can leverage their strengths resembling area and context consciousness, nuances, introductions, coverage influencing, and lobbying,” Lawal mentioned.
He famous that these ‘past money’ actions enhance returns as investments are de-risked. “The effective steadiness nevertheless is that traders mustn’t get in the best way of the entrepreneurs.
“We imagine Africa is just not Silicon Valley. Our terrain is known as the Tropical Savannah,” Lawal said.
Zone, a cost infrastructure startup, closed an $8.5 million seed spherical in March 2024, co-led by TLcom Capital, one in all Africa’s most energetic early-stage funds. SunFi, a clear power firm, additionally secured $1 million in early 2025 with backing from Ventures Platform, Delta40, and Kaleo Ventures.
Accrue, a fintech platform, raised $1.58 million, led by Lattice Fund with contributions from different regional backers. The momentum has continued into mid-2025 as Photo voltaic power supplier, Arnergy, raised $18 million in a Collection B spherical that included native participation, whereas development e-commerce startup CutStruct and HR options firm PaidHR every secured $2 million seed rounds with Zedcrest Capital among the many traders.
Native VCs resembling Microtraction and newer gamers like Future Africa are providing necessary classes on how home capital can lead, form, and maintain startup ecosystems.
Microtraction has constructed its popularity by investing early — usually in pre-seed or seed spherical startups. It has actively offered small however significant checks to founders who’re simply getting began.
A latest instance is Microtraction’s Neighborhood Fund (first shut $15 million), which goals to write down first cheques of $100,000 for about 7 % fairness in early-stage African tech corporations, with choices for follow-ups.
Future Africa describes itself as a ‘founding investor’ with examine sizes within the $100,000-500,000 vary. They construct a group of founders, traders, advisors, corporates, and authorities companions to help portfolio corporations from early on.
The community impact helps founders entry extra than simply capital, but additionally advisory providers, partnerships, institutional help, and so forth.
Native VCs usually put money into startups fixing issues particular to Nigeria or Africa, starting from fintech, edtech, healthtech, or logistics, reasonably than solely chasing international tech export tales. For Microtraction, its portfolio spans fintech, well being tech, SaaS, edtech, crypto, gaming, and mobility throughout Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Learn additionally: Nigeria’s 22 startups in Africa’s top 100
Challenges
The challenges confronted by native VCs are lingering structural and market challenges, which embrace restricted swimming pools of home institutional capital resembling pension funds.
Sovereign wealth funds in Nigeria usually have mandates, danger appetites, or regulatory constraints that make early-stage tech investments troublesome.
Past capital, scaling corporations wants authorized, HR, compliance, operations, worldwide growth, and lots of native VCs are nonetheless constructing these help methods.
Native VCs additionally face competitors from international VCs with deeper pockets, international networks, and the flexibility to write down bigger cheques.
By writing bigger checks and co-leading rounds with international gamers, homegrown traders are positioning themselves as key drivers of the subsequent wave of African innovation funding.
As Nigeria’s tech ecosystem expands quickly, native enterprise capital (VC) companies are more and more stepping up as key drivers of innovation, capital deployment, and sustainable development.
