At a recent meeting with its limited partners (LPs), the early-stage African investment firm Oui Capital announced a significant milestone: it has successfully returned its entire $4 million debut fund following the partial sale of its equity in the Nigerian business banking platform, Moniepoint.
This Nigerian fintech unicorn has proven to be an exceptional investment for the five-year-old Oui Capital. When the firm launched its first fund, it invested just $150,000 in the Nigeria-based company, an early bet that has since generated an $8 million return. This single exit was enough capital to repay the entire debut fund to its LPs.
The specific liquidity event occurred last October when Moniepoint raised a substantial $110 million Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Development Partners International. Oui Capital chose to sell some of its shares during this round. With the entire fund capital now repaid, any future returns generated from the remaining Moniepoint shares—or any other company in the portfolio—will represent pure profit for its investors.
This achievement is a rare feat for a young VC firm, as many globally fail to return their first fund, and it is even more uncommon within Africa’s growing venture ecosystem. It powerfully underscores the potentially lucrative nature of early-stage bets, particularly within the fintech sector, on the continent. Oui Capital now joins a select group of pan-African investors, including CRE VC and 4DX Ventures, which have also successfully returned their first funds after backing other African unicorns like Andela and Flutterwave, according to sources familiar with the continent’s investor dealings. Oui Capital has officially confirmed the news to TechCrunch.
Moniepoint’s Evolution and Oui Capital’s Support
Moniepoint, which was previously known as TeamApt, was not a widely recognized name when Oui Capital first considered investing in 2019. At that time, the company’s primary focus was on building financial products and software tools for banks and for its own internal use.
Oui Capital, co-founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, was among Moniepoint’s earliest investors. It was also one of the few initial backers to actively support the outfit’s critical pivot to the business banking and payments platform model that is now known as Moniepoint, which has since grown into Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer.
Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint co-founder and CEO, acknowledged the firm’s support in a 2021 video, stating: “They have been with us through the stages, from seeking product-market fit to getting to production. Olu [managing partner at Oui Capital] has been helpful in advisory; we talk through strategy, governance, and key matters that affect the company. They have also been helpful in our investment campaigns, from introducing potential investors to sometimes just thinking around our narrative and positioning…”
African Exit Landscape and Fund Strategy
Exits in Africa’s tech scene remain a challenge, with only 143 out of 2,971 venture deals since 2019 leading to an exit, according to data from The Big Deal. Most startups across the continent are still in their early or growth stages—far from the maturity typically required for a significant exit event. Unlike more developed markets that offer robust options for IPOs and M&A activity, Africa’s tech ecosystem is still maturing, resulting in a smaller pool of companies ready for exit.
Venture capital investments typically require five to ten years to mature and generate returns; for Oui Capital, that wait was exactly five years. When the firm joined Moniepoint’s seed round, the company was valued at a relatively modest $12.5 million, as revealed in an investor report seen by TechCrunch.
Anecdotally, smaller funds are often perceived as easier to return due to their modest size, a trend supported by data from Cambridge Associates, which manages investment portfolios for institutional investors.
However, Oyinsan attributes the fund’s success to its portfolio construction. He tells TechCrunch, “It’s not just about fund size—it’s about what you invest in, your entry price, how much equity you own, how much you invest, and when you decide to exit.”
Oui Capital’s initial fund, Mentors Fund 1, also included other promising startups such as Duplo, which digitizes payment flows for African B2B enterprises; Maad, a B2B e-commerce platform for fast-moving consumer goods; and Matta, a B2B marketplace for chemicals. The investor, which currently has 22 startups across two funds, writes initial checks of up to $400,000 for seed-stage startups across Africa.
Oui Capital launched its second fund, Mentors Fund 2, in 2022. While the firm initially targeted $30 million, it closed at $12 million, according to Oyinsan (Moniepoint CEO Tosin Eniolorunda is an investor in the second fund). Oyinsan also shared that while the fund is in a strong position and has no immediate plans to rush into fundraising, it may potentially raise a third fund later this year.
