Ten years, $1.89 billion, and almost no liquidity.
Since its founding in 2016, Flutterwave has raised about $475 million, more than any of the 200-plus African startups founded that year. The 166 smallest companies in its cohort have raised roughly $210 million between them over the same decade.
This disparity in how one payments company from Lagos took in more than twice what two-thirds of its class managed in ten years combined is the story of Africa’s venture capital industry, shown in a year’s intake.
The mid-2010s were a good moment to start a company on the continent. Mobile money was spreading, smartphone prices were falling, and global funds were beginning to treat Africa as an asset class. In 2016, startups were founded across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Uganda and Ghana, spanning fintech, agritech, e-commerce, cleantech and health.
Originally published by TechCabal.