What’s on Goodwell’s radar? - May 2025
In between investor meetings, AVCA’s conference in Lagos, ongoing reporting cycles, and our usual day-to-day duties, Goodwell’s team still squeezed in some reading time to stay up to date on Africa’s latest investment trends. Here’s what’s been on our radar this month:
Africa’s Investment Landscape: Insights from AVCA 2025
In late April, our team returned from the AVCA’s (The African Private Capital Association) 2025 Summit in Lagos feeling inspired and motivated. The main takeaways? Africa’s investment landscape shows remarkable resilience and growth potential. Businesses addressing fundamental needs are thriving; new urban centres like Dar es Salaam, Hawassa, and Gulu are emerging, and 60% of the continent’s rapidly growing population will be living outside the “Big Four” economies by 2040.
Investments are increasingly emphasizing local production, gender parity, and job creation in sectors like financial inclusion, agribusinesses, clean energy, manufacturing, and waste management. While the continent’s need for intentional capital currently surpasses the number of committed investors, promising developments include stronger participation from Africa-based investors and growing interest in venture debt, suggesting continued evolution of the continent’s investment ecosystem. For more detailed insights on the African investment space, AVCA’s African Private Capital Activity Report 2024 is a worthwhile read.
Dreaming of baobabs, not unicorns
We’re firm believers of the local-for-local approach in our funds, and have regularly written about investors themselves following a local path. More and more voices are encouraging Africa’s own capital – from pensions to institutional wealth - to mobilise internally. In 2024, 31% of active VC investors were African, the continent’s single largest investment group. Dr. Sanghu Delle, a Ghanaian entrepreneur and investor, called on investors to value baobabs, not unicorns: resilient, impactful companies that grow steadily through deep roots in local communities (a metaphor our team particularly enjoyed following our recent successful exit from the financial services company, Baobab Nigeria!).
Sector-specific funds to maximise sector impact?
With impactful, local growth in mind, it’s interesting to consider ways to address local- and Africa-specific challenges. In an interesting article from AFN, Sherief Kesseba, managing partner for the Climate Resilient Africa Fund observed: “We need more sector-specific funds that can lead rounds and validate opportunities. Agrifood funds that understand the space and that can spot the sustainable solutions that are addressing real African food system problems.”
Africa benefitted most from the global start-up investment boom – relatively
When considering the shape of future VC funds in Africa, it’s important to consider VC’s historic impacts also. Another Big Deal took a closer look at VC’s recent history on the continent, showing that, proportionally, Africa benefitted more from the global start-up investment boom of the early 2020s than other regions. Funding grew by 4.3x (compared to 2.6x globally) Even now, in spite of a perceived global glumness, funding appears to be stabilising on the continent as the investment sector establishes a new normal.
Investor activity up in 2025
Indeed, start-ups across Africa are starting to feel the thaw in VC’s perceived investment freeze. Financial Fortune reports that African start-ups raised USD 343 million in April 2025, making it the second-best April on record after April 2022. Investment momentum is building on the continent again; big-ticket deals, and innovations in sectors like fintech, agritech, and clean energy – some of Goodwell’s focus industries – are driving growth and building enthusiasm for African investment.