Across Africa's venture capital scene, the people doing the hardest work, evaluating startups, structuring deals, managing fund returns, are often the least talked about. A new report released in February 2025 is changing that conversation. Developed by Dream VC and A&A Collective, the African Investment Salaries Report draws on 209 responses from investment professionals across 28 African countries to examine how the continent pays, retains, and grows its investment talent.
The numbers are honest and, in places, sobering. An analyst working in Africa takes home roughly $21,000 a year. That same role outside the continent pays around $28,000. Move up to associate level and the gap widens: $26,000 in Africa versus $38,000 elsewhere. For investment managers and principals, the difference is even sharper, approximately $70,000 on the continent compared to $110,000 internationally. These are not small margins. They represent real decisions that real professionals have to make about where to build their careers.
The pay gap does not simply come down to African firms being stingy. The report points to a more structural explanation: the size and stage of the funds themselves shape what firms can afford to offer. Smaller funds mean smaller fee bases, which means tighter budgets for talent, even when the ambition is anything but small.
What the report makes clear is that compensation is not just a HR conversation. It is a question about whether Africa's investment industry can hold onto the people it needs to grow. If the analysts and associates building the pipeline today are being quietly recruited elsewhere, the long-term consequences for local fund performance are hard to ignore.
The full picture across salaries, bonuses, carried interest, and career progression is now on the table. What the industry does with that picture is the part still being written.
Originally published by African Business.