Before the venture capitalists write the big cheques and the headlines follow, someone has to take the first bet on a startup. Angel investors, often with less capital and certainty but more risk, make these bets.
Across Africa, this early risk has increasingly been organised and amplified by the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), a pan-African non-profit that has helped build the backbone of the continent’s early-stage investment infrastructure.
Founded in 2015 by six pioneer angel networks, like the Lagos Angel Network and Ghana Angel Investor Network, ABAN has grown into a community of over 5,000 investors organised across over 60 angel networks in 37 African countries.
Together, they have deployed $35 million into more than 1,200 startups spanning fintech, agritech, health, clean energy, and the creative economy. Its flagship vehicle, Catalytic Africa, a matching fund run with AfriLabs, mobilised $2.5 million from 200 angels in just 12 months.
Even as global VC funding in Africa slows down, ABAN’s local networks keep deals moving. At the centre of all this is Fadilah Tchoumba, ABAN’s CEO and the fund manager for Catalytic Africa.
Her conviction is simple. Africa must fund Africa. The angels who backed Flutterwave and Paystack before anyone else were Africans operating on the continent, she likes to point out. Without that foundational capital, Tchoumba argued, global investors have nothing to follow.
Tchoumba and I met in Kigali during the Innovative Fintech Forum (IFF), and in our short conversation on the sidelines, we talked about the problems with angel investing in Africa, what ABAN does to help early-stage investing in Africa, the importance of local investors, and Kigali’s compelling case as a fund domiciliation platform for angel networks in this edition of Ask an Investor.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How many startups have benefited from ABAN’s network?
From late 2021 to 2025, angel investors across the continent that are part of the ABAN network have invested in more than 5,000 companies. The ticket size varies between $5,000 and can go all the way to $250,000. A small portion are growing quite well, some of which have attracted additional funding from VCs.
Why do you think local venture capital is still very thin compared to the capital that flows in from outside?
There are many reasons. If we look at capital flow within the whole capital value chain, it always starts with angel investors, and then from angel investors, you hit the line of commercial capital, which mostly starts with VCs and eventually PE, and so forth.
Right now, we have structural challenges. A group of angel investors will come together, and the moment they are ready to deploy capital, they hit setbacks which are related to the legal framework that would be most appropriate to protect the interests of the startup, especially since they’re investing for the future.
The second is the speed at which capital is deployed. Since 2015, angel networks have deployed more than $32.5 million across the continent. But when you look at the figures for 2025, it’s about $4.5 million that was deployed by angel investors. People ask me: ” Do you think we can do more? The answer is yes.
But why didn’t we do more?
It takes an angel group two or three months to deploy capital in a startup on the continent, versus a European group taking 20 minutes. The question is, why is it taking us so long to deploy $50,000 or $200,000?
We have to go back to structural issues. Do we have adequate policies that can consider cross-border transactions or the diversity of our currencies? Do we have the infrastructure that can take into account the cost sensitivity of deploying early-stage capital? Do we have the legal framework to support the diversity of angels coming from various African countries?
One thing we’ve been focusing on since last year is how we actually make angel capital deployment as seamless as possible. If we solve that issue, I can almost guarantee you that on this continent, we would be able to deploy between $50 million and $80 million a year through angel investing, which is very much needed to build the foundation that startups need to attract commercial capital, starting with VC.
How do you think these problems can be solved? What has ABAN done?
At ABAN, to truly identify the problem, we had to test it manually first. Today, apart from Mauritius, where we operate, we have an SPV based in Rwanda. The role of the SPV is to pool capital from various African countries and then deploy and invest it in a selected company.
One of our recent examples: Legendary Foods, based out of Ghana, received investment participation from multiple investors coming from multiple African countries. Pooling that capital requires KYC, getting money into the account in Kigali, and then deploying that money into the company’s bank account. And to do that, the KYC itself can take you two months.
The first question is: can we make KYC as light as possible without compromising international standards? If it’s a yes, you have to speak to policymakers, to key stakeholders in Kigali—which we have done. We’re still in discussion on how to safeguard and protect everyone involved without compromising the regulators, the startup, or the investors.
Banks are also one of our key stakeholders. We’re speaking with banks to understand what infrastructure we can leverage to pool and push capital seamlessly. That’s also going well. We hope that before the end of this year, we’ll have a practical infrastructure that will make angel investing very easy.
You’ve noted that limited participation of local corporates in the investment cycle diminishes exit prospects. But there’s also a liquidity problem in African startups. If there’s a liquidity problem, why should a high-net-worth individual put money in a startup instead of real estate or treasury bills?
We all recognise that there are competing asset classes. We know that. But we also have to acknowledge that to grow our economies, we have to take risks in sectors that were not looked at before, such as tech or tech-enabled SMEs.
When we’re talking to high-net-worth individuals or those who are willing and able to support the growth of our economies: diversify your portfolio. As you’re investing in real estate or bonds, what is your contribution towards supporting a company that will solve problems for millions of people?
Those today who are active angel investors are those who have recognised that they cannot grow alone. They cannot create wealth alone. They have to be able to identify those young women and men who are building value and push them. In pushing them, they create value even for themselves. That’s why angel investors are becoming more sophisticated in the way they measure risk, the way they support founders, and the way they want to get the return on their investment.
How important are local investors compared to foreign growth-stage investors?
I don’t want to put local and foreign investors in a competitive frame, but we have to recognise that it’s almost impossible for me to come to your village and invest in your village if I don’t know you. The best people to understand it, to commit capital and support a company being built, are the locals. The only way to attract additional funding is when those locals have invested, then the foreign capital will follow.
These two are complementary, but one drives the other. Local capital sets the base. Foreign amplifies. It doesn’t start. And we have to recognise as Africans that we have to continue committing our own capital for foreign capital to actually come on board. It’s hard for me to believe that it works the other way around, because there’s no precedent for it. No example in the history of the world shows foreign capital coming to support while local capital sits there waiting.
That’s one of the reasons why, at ABAN, to increase the pool of angel investors, we need to increase the pool of capital deployed every year—by making it more diverse, by including other countries on the continent that are underserved or inactive, and by including the diaspora. And in doing so, making sure we can provide the right infrastructure that can be trusted and is secure for the founder, the investors, and the policymakers.
Why did ABAN come to IFF?
There are many reasons, but the most important is the energy. Any ecosystem is built with the participation of local capital. Today, ABAN is the hub that aggregates local investors in the form of angel networks that are committing capital but also expertise through their time and mentoring to all these companies that are emerging, for them to build a solid foundation so that they can attract VC funding and any other type of investment later on.
When you look at the whole continent, fintech has been the leading sector. The only reason that has been prominent in explaining the growth of fintech is that it has a solid foundation. Most of the infrastructure has been built, and we see more and more companies within that space emerging. For them to actually grow, they need angel investors.
Being part of this conversation at IFF is crucial for angel investors. It’s crucial for ABAN to understand what’s happening in the space and what directions these companies are taking. I have seen so many fintech companies, from insurtech all the way to platforms providing fractional investment in the stock market. These are great examples emerging, and we want to be able to support those companies as they build.
And of course, this is a place to engage with other stakeholders, especially Rwanda, which is a very important country in the pan-African tech ecosystem because of its financial infrastructure, the flexibility in terms of policies, and the tax incentives that it provides for companies to truly grow and create better value for our communities.
What have you seen here at IFF that has impressed you and ABAN?
One thing that has been talked about is the various initiatives taking place. For example, the cross-border deal between Rwanda and Ghana is very significant, especially for fintech companies that want to expand beyond their borders. If they can have such a platform to expand without duplicating the request for licensing, it really cuts the time spent on lobbying and on educating policymakers from one country to another.
We are seeing this already being put into place, with practical examples happening. That’s one thing I’ve noticed that’s different. We are not just talking but acting.
I was also listening to the Mastercard Foundation and a bank CEO, based here in Kigali, who personally expressed that it’s so important for them to become active actors in that space. They are committed, as it is part of their agenda to actually invest in early-stage companies, especially in fintech. I’ve called on the bank CEO to co-invest together. These are examples of deliberate actions that would truly have an impact on growing the fintech space.
Here in Rwanda, what type of policy reforms are you trying to advocate for?
I’m really happy that there’s this new policy around intermediaries that was released. The capital market today is becoming a very dynamic platform that acknowledges the presence of early-stage fund managers who would be able to manage a certain amount of capital to support these companies. That’s one thing that has happened, which is great.
Rwanda has a very compelling case as a fund domiciliation platform for angel networks that are becoming funds, and also for startup founders who want to domicile on the continent at a competitive price with a favourable tax incentive proposition. All of this, together with many more actions we need to advocate for—especially when it comes to pooling and deploying capital at low cost and fast—Rwanda has always been open to having a discussion and working with us to find solutions favourable to the whole ecosystem.
You have a microphone to everyone in African tech, what do you want to talk about?
One thing I’d like us to talk about in the future is the liquidity issue. We have to dive in by encouraging local corporates to look at the fintechs and tech companies emerging on the continent and engage with them so they can understand the value these companies can bring to their own corporates, and so they can understand the value of buying some of these companies.
One thing that would solve is the liquidity issues we’re facing across the continent. We have to have exit options locally as well. We can’t just be relying on foreign exits.
I think we have to welcome corporate companies to start engaging with us so we understand what they have in mind, where their positions are, and what their prospects are in terms of supporting the ecosystem and growing their own value.
My hope is to one day look at companies like banks across the continent, identifying fintechs and saying, ‘ This is creating value; we’re going to work with them, and eventually we would like to acquire them.’ There might be a pricing issue, but I really hope that corporates can start engaging with ecosystem stakeholders so we can come together and create a middle ground where everybody benefits.
