(BPRW) How African VC firm Oui Capital returned its first fund with Moniepoint’s unicorn exit  

The American banking dragon has so far demonstrated its worth as a standout investment for Oui Capital, which is five years old. When it launched its first fund, it invested$ 150, 000 in the Nigeria-based company, an early bet that has since generated an$ 8 million return—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 shares into the deal, now, with its fund repaid, any future returns will be pure profit for its investors. It’s a rare achievement for a younger VC firm—many worldwide fail to return their first fund—and also smaller in Africa’s endeavor ecosystem. However, it underscores how profitable some early-stage bets, particularly in banking, can be on the continent. According to two people with knowledge of investment relations on the peninsula, Oui Capital joins different pan-African investors like CRE VC and 4DX Ventures, who have returned their first cash after backing another unicorns like Andela and Flutterwave. Oui Capital reached out to TechCrunch for reply, and the company confirmed the report. Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, wasn’t a household name in 2019 when Oui Capital initially considered it. The business was largely responsible for creating financial products and technology for banks and themselves at the time. Oui Capital, founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, was among its earliest investors and also one of the couple to support the group’s hinge to Moniepoint, a business finance and payments system that has since become Nigeria’s largest merchant firm. ” They have been with us through the stages, from seeking product-market fit to getting to production”, Tosin Enioluwadara, Moniepoint co-founder and CEO, said of Oui Capital in a 2021 video. ” 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 …” Exits in Africa’s tech scene remain rare, with only 143 out of 2, 971 venture deals since 2019 leading to exits, according to The Big Deal. The majority of startups are still in their early stages of development, far from the maturity required for major exits. Unlike developed areas with strong M&amp, A and Investor choices, Africa’s tech ecosystem is still growing, leaving fewer businesses in an exit-ready place. On the other hand, endeavor investments usually take 5–10 years to mature, but many African-focused VC firms however await returns. For Oui Capital, that delay took five times. When the company joined Moniepoint’s plant square, the company was valued at a$ 12.5 million assessment, as revealed in an investment record seen by TechCrunch. Interestingly, smaller money are easier to gain due to their size. Data from Cambridge Associates, which builds and manages investment portfolio for institutional shareholders, bucks up this pattern. But more important, Oyinsan credits his fund’s portfolio design for the agency’s grip to date. ” It’s not just about finance size—it’s about what you invest in, your entry cost, how much capital you possess, how much you invest, and when you decide to exit”, he tells TechCrunch. Another startups in Oui Capital’s collection include Duplo, which digitizes pay flows for American B2B enterprises, Maad, a B2B e-commerce system for fast-moving consumer goods, and Matta, a B2B industry for chemicals, from its first finance, Mentors Fund 1. The investor, with 22 startups across two funds, writes checks of up to$ 400, 000 for seed-stage startups across Africa. In 2022, Oui Capital launched a second fund, Mentors Fund 2. While the early-stage firm initially targeted$ 30 million, it closed at$ 12 million, according to Oyinsan. He added that the fund might raise a third fund later this year despite the fact that it has no plans to launch any fundraising efforts right away due to its strong position. Source: Oui Capital