Story of the Week: Africa’s Exit Problem Is Holding Back Massive Growth

Hey, Kaluka here,

We talk a lot about funding in Africa, how much, when and from where. But here is the elephant in the room: not enough exits. Until founders and investors see clear pathways for liquidity from IPOs, acquisitions or secondary markets, much of the capital raised will sit in limbo and new large-scale flows will remain cautious.

In the past week, ecosystem conversations in Lagos and Nairobi drifted back to this recurring tension: “We built a business, we scaled, now how do we exit?” The fact is, Africa’s startup ecosystem still lacks institutional depth in tech exits. Stock exchanges are fragmented, M&A activity is limited and regulatory frameworks often don’t support cross-border or tech-driven buyouts.

Some recent examples suggest promise. Nigerian fintech LemFi, acquiring a London-based startup (Pillar) to anchor its European presence. This suggests that outbound exits and cross-border consolidation are still possible. But these remain exceptions, not the rule. If Africa wants to turn hype into sustainable growth, we need to build exits as a first-class citizen in startup strategy and not an afterthought.

What do you think? Why are we not seeing that many exits? I would like to hear from you.

If you’re a founder building something bold, now’s a good time to raise. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here.

Last week, we tracked 7 funding rounds across Africa that raised about $34,277,000 million.

🇰🇪 KOFISI - Raised $10.5M in Series B funding raised by ed by UK-based Falco Group. KOFISI provides bespoke workspaces for large teams.

🇿🇦 Vambo AI - Received $20,000 grant from Meta’s Llama Impact Grant. Vambo AI offers a digital language technology platform that uses AI.

🇺🇬 Denebola Technologies - Received an unknown amount in a Seed funding round led by Women in Innovation Fund. Denebola Technologies empower women through accessible and affordable healthcare solutions.

🇲🇼 Mungo Corpoprate Group - Raised $257K in Pre-seed funding from FasterCapital. Mungo is building an integrated ecosystem to transform Malawi from job-seekers into a ‘Generation of Creators.’ 🇰🇪 ARC Ride - Received $10 million financing commitment from Mirova. ARC Ride operates as an e-mobility battery-as-a-service provider.

🇿🇦 Contactable - Secured $13.5m in funding led by Venture Capitalworks, Fireball Capital, Ke Nako Capital and Mavovo. Contactable is an Integrated Identity Platform.

🇰🇪 Zanifu - Secured an undisclosed amount from Yango Ventures. Zanifu provides short-term working capital loans to MSMEs in the FMCG supply chain.

We had 10 investors participate in last week’s rounds:

Total disclosed funding: $34,277,000 million across 7 rounds.

Fintechs Among the Most Likely to Exit - But Only if They Scale Smartly

Bloomberg’s recent Top 25 African Startups to Watch in 2025 included 4 fintechs - Anda (Angola), eShandi (Zambia), iiDENTIFii (South Africa), and Klasha. These are companies in regtech, cross-border payments, and alternative finance - sectors with clearer monetization paths and buyer interest.

But inclusion on a list is one thing. To get to exit, these companies must show clean financials, cross-border traction, defensible moats, and regulatory clarity. As capital becomes more selective, founders who can lay the groundwork for exit will stand out.

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