In a year defined by capital constraints and a recovering “funding winter” narrative, the internal machinery of African venture capital has continued to turn, albeit with a shifting focus. While much of the reporting on African tech focuses on inbound foreign capital (or the lack thereof), a quieter, perhaps more significant trend is the movement of local capital across borders.

We tracked disclosed cross-border investments by local African VC firms this year to understand where the money is actually going when it leaves its home market. The data paints a picture of a maturing ecosystem where geographic silos are breaking down, but where capital flow remains heavily concentrated in specific corridors.

Here is what we found.

The Nigerian Axis

The most immediate takeaway from the data is the dominance of Nigeria as an export hub for venture capital. Of the 15 firms analyzed with significant cross-border activity, seven are headquartered or co-headquartered in Nigeria.

Firms like Ingressive Capital, TLcom Capital, LoftyInc Capital and Future Africa are increasingly deploying funds outside of Lagos. Their capital is flowing primarily along two axes: North towards Egypt and South towards South Africa.

• Ingressive Capital verified three cross-border deals, including Egyptian logistics startup Nowlun ($600k) and healthtech SehaTech ($1.1m).
• LoftyInc, following the geographic mix of its LPs (which now include North African sovereign wealth funds), directed a $3m check into Egyptian AI startup Widebot.
• Ventures Platform and Oui Capital are aggressively opening the Francophone corridor. Ventures Platform, bolstered by DFI backing, has deployed capital into Senegal’s Chargel and logistics player Maad ($3.2m), while Oui Capital led a $3.5m round for Ivory Coast’s fintech Cauridor.
• TLcom Capital, which also maintains a presence in Kenya, directed capital into South African travel-tech TurnStay ($2m) and Kenyan fintech HoneyCoin ($4.9m).

This activity suggests that Nigerian VCs are acting as the primary nodes in a pan-African network, aggressively seeking yield in mature markets like Cairo and Cape Town, partly driven by domestic macro headwinds — where the naira has shed over 110% of its value in two years and inflation bites hard. It is ostensibly a case of exporting capital to hedge against volatility at home.

To be fair, Nigerian funds are participating in local rounds, but they appear more to be ceding leadership on their own turf. In major domestic rounds this year — such as Arnergy ($15m) and OmniRetail ($20m) — local firms like Ventures Platform and Aruwa Capital participated, but the lead investor slots were taken by global heavyweights like Norfund, BII, and Breakthrough Energy.

The “Big Ticket” Divergence

The data reveals a stark bifurcation in the market based on ticket size. The vast majority of cross-border activity is concentrated at the Pre-Seed to Seed stage, with check sizes hovering between $400k and $5m.

However, two firms stand apart as the continent’s growth-stage heavyweights: Senegal-based Partech and the Tunisia/Mauritius-based Cathay AfricInvest.

Partech recorded the highest verified ticket sizes and the widest geographic spread. Their activity this year included leading a $52m equity round for Egyptian proptech Nawy and co-leading a €13.5m round for South African security platform AURA.

Similarly, Cathay AfricInvest — backed by institutional DFIs — focused on Series A and B deals, verifying investments in Kenya’s Hewatele ($10.5m) and South Africa’s Nile ($11.3m).

The gap between these two firms and the rest of the field highlights the “missing middle” in African venture capital. While there is ample local capital for early-stage cross-border experimentation, the ecosystem still relies heavily on a tiny cohort of funds for Series B scaling.

South Africa is the Target

If Nigeria is the primary source of cross-border capital, South Africa is the consensus destination.

The data shows that South Africa has become a magnet for funds from West, North, and East Africa. Investors are drawn to its mature financial infrastructure and deeper consumer markets.

• E3 Capital (Kenya) invested in Open Access Energy and Terra Insights.
• P1 Ventures (Egypt) backed MoneyBadger and Salus Cloud.
• Atlantica Ventures (Nigeria) deployed capital into Salus Cloud and NOSIBLE.

This flow contradicts the perception of South Africa as an ecosystem isolated from the rest of the continent. Instead, it appears to be the most “investable” market for VCs looking to diversify their portfolios outside their home currencies.

The East African Green Pivot

While fintech remains the universal language of African VC — appearing in nearly every portfolio analyzed — Kenyan firms are carving out a niche in climate and infrastructure.

E3 Capital, based in Nairobi, directed its cross-border capital almost exclusively toward clean energy and climate-tech infrastructure. Their portfolio this year included Ghana’s Kofa ($8.1m) and Nigeria’s Cutstruct ($1.5m). This thematic specialization distinguishes East African capital from the fintech-heavy thesis dominant in Lagos and Cairo.

The Syndication Safety Net

A distinct pattern of syndication emerged in the data. Specific startups — such as Salus Cloud, Liquify, AURA, and Nawy — appear repeatedly across the portfolios of different investors.

For instance, South Africa’s Salus Cloud secured backing from both P1 Ventures (Egypt) and Atlantica Ventures (Nigeria). Ghana’s Liquify saw inflows from Future Africa (Nigeria) and 54 Collective (South Africa).

This indicates that local VCs are actively de-risking cross-border bets by co-investing with peers from other regions. Rather than competing for deals, the top tier of African VCs appears to be forming a collaborative mesh to facilitate due diligence in markets where they lack a physical presence.

The Francophone Gap

Despite the prominence of Partech (Senegal), the data highlights a persistent lack of deal flow into Francophone Africa from Anglophone investors. While Beltone Venture Capital and Disruptech (both Egyptian) made moves into Morocco, the vast majority of cross-border capital skips the French-speaking West and Central African nations.

Exceptions exist — such as Ingressive Capital’s investment in Cameroon’s REasy — but generally, the investment corridors remain linguistic: Anglophone to Anglophone, and Francophone North Africa to Francophone North Africa.

The Bottom Line

The narrative of 2025 is not just about capital scarcity, but capital efficiency. African VCs are becoming more strategic, moving money along established commercial corridors (Nigeria-Egypt-SA) and specializing by sector (Fintech vs. Climate).

While the funding gap at Series B remains a structural weakness, the increasing frequency of cross-border syndication suggests an ecosystem that is becoming more integrated, self-reliant, and less dependent on the whims of Silicon Valley tourists.

Summary of Disclosed Activity