At a recent investor meeting, African early stage investor Oui Capital informed the limited partners that it had returned the initial capital of $4 million after selling some shares in the business banking platform Moniepoint.
The African fintech unicorn has so far proved a standout investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. When he launched his first fund, he invested $150,000 in the Nigerian-based company, an early bet that has since returned $8 million—enough to pay back the fund.
Specifically, last October, when Moniepoint raised $110 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation in a Series C round led by Development Partners International, Oui Capital sold some of its stake in the deal. Now, with its principal paid back, any future returns will be a net gain for its investors.
It’s a rare feat for a young VC firm—many globally fail to return their first capital—and even rarer in Africa’s venture ecosystem. But it does highlight how profitable some early-stage bets, especially in fintech, can be on the continent. Oui Capital joins other pan-African investors such as CRE VC and 4DX Ventures which returned its first funds after backing other unicorns such as Andela and Flutterwave, according to two people familiar with investment deals on the continent.
TechCrunch reached out to Oui Capital for comment, and the company confirmed the news.
Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, was not a household name in 2019 when it was first thought of by Oui Capital. At the time, the company mainly built financial products and software for itself and banks.
Oui Capital, founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreolihe was among its early investors and also one of the few who supported the company’s pivot to Moniepoint, a banking and payment business platform that has since become Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer.
“They were with us at all stages, from the product’s search to the market to production,” Tosin Eniolorunda, co-founder and CEO of Moniepoint, told Oui Capital in 2021. video. “All [managing partner at Oui Capital] he helped consultatively. we talk through strategy, governance and key issues affecting the company. They have also been helpful in our investment campaigns, from pitching potential investors to sometimes just thinking about our narrative and positioning…”
Exits in Africa’s tech scene remain rare, with only 143 out of 2,971 business deals from 2019 leading to exits, according to The Big Deal. Most startups are still in their early or early growth stages — far from the maturity required for major exits. Unlike developed markets with strong M&A and IPO options, Africa’s tech ecosystem is still developing, leaving fewer startups in an exit-ready position.
On the other hand, venture investments typically take 5-10 years to mature, so many Africa-focused VC firms are still waiting for returns. For Oui Capital, that wait lasted five years. When the company joined Moniepoint’s seed round, the company was valued at $12.5 million, according to an investor report seen by TechCrunch.
Anecdotally, smaller funds are easier to repay because of their size. Data from Cambridge Associates, which creates and manages investment portfolios for institutional investors, supports this trend.
But more importantly, Oyinsan credits building his capital portfolio for pulling the company to this day. “It’s not just about the size of the fund — it’s about what you invest in, your entry price, how much equity you hold, how much you invest and when you decide to exit,” he tells TechCrunch.
Other startups in Oui Capital’s portfolio include Duplo, which is digitizing payment flows for African B2B businesses. Maad, a B2B e-commerce platform for fast moving consumer goods. and Matta B2B marketplace for chemicals, from its first fund, Mentors Fund 1;
The investor, with 22 startups across two funds, writes checks of up to $400,000 to startups across Africa.
In 2022, Oui Capital launched a second fund, Mentors Fund 2. While the early-stage company initially targeted $30 million, it closed at $12 million, according to Oyinsan (Eniolorunda is an investor in the second fund). He also shared that while the fund isn’t planning to rush to raise money due to its strong position, it may raise a third fund later this year.
