Fewer exits and tighter capital force African angels to push for discipline
Africa’s angel investors are entering 2026 more cautious and more deliberate, focusing on founder character, deeper sector expertise, and pathways to real liquidity.
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In October 2025, over a hundred angel investors and venture capitalists converged at the J. Randle Centre for Yorùbá Culture & History in Lagos, Nigeria. <br />
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The goal, as outlined in a speech by Yemi Keri, President of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), was to reflect on the state of angel investing on the continent and figure out what the future could look like. <br />
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“We’re the first believers,” she told the eager gathering. “We take the initial risk. We’re the architects of our own economic destiny, so let us start building our own tables.” <br />
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Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN, while reviewing the previous year, recalls that 2025 was a crucial year for angel investors in many ways. <br />
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The previous year brought significant macroeconomic changes. Some of the continent’s largest economies, including Kenya, Egypt, and Nigeria, witnessed record inflation and currency devaluations that forced many angel investors to reassess their investments into startups.<br />
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Those developments also forced crucial conversations between angels and venture capitalists, with the consensus being that both parties needed to collaborate more often to provide pipelines for early-stage startups funded by angels to receive additional capital from VCs and potentially create exits for the former.<br />
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Consequently, targeted actions were taken to build stronger bonds between angel investors and venture capitalists. For 2026, Techpoint Africa asked two angel investors their thoughts on where the industry is headed next. <br />
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More capital deployed<br />
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Despite the macroeconomic shocks of 2024 forcing investors to pull back, Tchoumba is confident there won’t be a repeat in 2026, noting that a lot of work has gone into educating angel investors on their role in the ecosystem and on how to invest despite discouraging macroeconomic conditions. <br />
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“Going forward into 2026, I see the majority of angel networks and angel investors recognising their position as early-stage investors that are there to he...
