Too many fundraises, not sufficient returns: A narrative of African tech

African startups are elevating more cash than ever, however few are seeing actual returns. That was the unflinching verdict of the Pan-African View of Tech Returns and Exits panel at Moonshot by TechCabal 2025, the place Bankole Cardoso, Managing Director of enterprise studio, Delta40, Sadaharu Saiki, founding father of Sunny Aspect Ventures, and Esohe Igbinoba, a Enterprise Associate for Vencapital, confronted the structural gaps holding again liquidity throughout the continent. 

The dialog revealed that whereas the continent has lots of of startups scaling quick, too few attain the liquidity occasions, like preliminary public choices (IPOs), acquisitions, or secondaries, that recycle investor capital and reward founders.

“Exits are very, crucial for our monetary provide chain, as a result of, on the finish of the day, it’s not simply the startups who need to fundraise. VCs additionally need to fundraise to make Africa a viable vacation spot within the present monetary provide chain,” Saiki mentioned. 

He shared his personal comparative analysis the place he in contrast the variety of exits in Africa to that of different areas. He said that in 2023, simply 30 exits have been recorded throughout Africa’s 54 nations, in contrast with 83 in Southeast Asia and 178 in Japan. He used this to point out how the hole in exit quantity throughout areas underlines why capital stays trapped in African growth-stage startups. Japan and India’s success, he defined, stems from having vibrant public markets and structured IPO techniques that permit buyers to money out repeatedly.

Cardoso highlighted that founders who need their startups to be engaging for strategic exits want to start out with the fundamentals many overlook: governance and monetary self-discipline. He explains that establishing a proper and even advisory board early builds construction and credibility, whereas retaining clear data and administration accounts from day one ensures transparency when buyers or consumers arrive. “These are the steps that you need to actually have taken from day one to actually perceive your enterprise and to assist buyers coming in to grasp your enterprise. So the cliche, issues are actually governance and financials.”

The dialog additionally explored how deal constructions are evolving. Whereas world enterprise funding has slowed, debt financing is quietly changing into a extra widespread bridge for African startups. Panelists famous {that a} rising variety of startups now mix fairness and debt to maintain development whereas ready for higher exit alternatives, a mirrored image of how founders are adapting to restricted liquidity.

“I feel the combination of debt and fairness goes to be the following part, as a result of we’ve been too targeted on fairness and a few financing phases are higher financed by debt,” Saiki provides.

The crux of the dialog gave the impression to be that Africa’s exit drawback is about design. Exits should cease being afterthoughts and grow to be embedded in technique, construction, and capital planning. Solely then can founders and buyers anticipate capital to movement in.