The African fintech unicorn has so far proven to be a standout investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. 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 feat for a young VC firm—many globally fail to return their first fund—and even rarer in Africa’s venture ecosystem. Still, it underscores how lucrative some early-stage bets, especially in fintech, can be on the continent. Oui Capital joins other pan-African investors like CRE VC and 4DX Ventures that have returned their first funds after backing other unicorns, such as Andela and Flutterwave, according to two people familiar with investor dealings on the continent.

TechCrunch contacted Oui Capital for comment, and the firm confirmed the news.

Moniepoint, previously known as TeamApt, wasn’t a household name in 2019 when Oui Capital first considered it. At the time, the company primarily built financial products and software for itself and banks.

Oui Capital, founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, was among its earliest investors and also one of the few to support the outfit’s pivot to Moniepoint, a business banking and payments platform that has since become Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer.

“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. Most startups are still in their early or growth stages — far from the maturity needed for significant exits. Unlike developed markets with robust M&A and IPO options, Africa’s tech ecosystem is still growing, leaving fewer startups in an exit-ready position.

On the other hand, venture investments typically take 5–10 years to mature, so many African-focused VC firms still await returns. For Oui Capital, that wait took five years. When the firm joined Moniepoint’s seed round, the company was valued at a $12.5 million valuation, as revealed in an investor report seen by TechCrunch.

Anecdotally, smaller funds are easier to return due to their size. Data from Cambridge Associates, which builds and manages investment portfolios for institutional investors, bucks up this trend.

But more importantly, Oyinsan credits his fund’s portfolio construction for the firm’s traction to date. “It’s not just about fund size—it’s about what you invest in, your entry price, how much equity you own, how much you invest, and when you decide to exit,” he tells TechCrunch.

Other startups in Oui Capital’s portfolio include Duplo, which digitizes payment flows for African B2B enterprises; Maad, a B2B e-commerce platform for fast-moving consumer goods; and Matta, a B2B marketplace for chemicals, from its first fund, 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 also shared that while the fund has no plans to rush into fundraising due to its strong position, it might raise a third fund later this year.

Source: Oui Capital