Launch Africa Returns $2.5 Million to Investors After Successful Exits

Pan-African venture capital firm Launch Africa has returned $2.5 million to investors from its first fund, marking a significant milestone in the African VC landscape where returns have been challenging.

The firm announced it completed 11 exits from its portfolio of over 180 startups, joining a select group of African investors who have actually provided liquidity to limited partners (LPs). This development comes as many African VC funds struggle to generate returns after raising capital aggressively between 2018 and 2022.

According to data from Carta, only about half of venture funds with vintages around 2020 had returned any capital by the end of 2025. Launch Africa’s achievement puts it ahead of most of its peers globally.

The $36 million first fund has now distributed 7% of paid-in capital, with exits spanning seven sectors including fintech (five), payments infrastructure, agritech, logistics, and more. The returns came from startups in South Africa (three), Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, and Egypt.

Launch Africa’s managing partners, Zachariah George and Janade du Plessis, attribute their success to several factors: a focus on early-stage investments, a no-follow-on strategy that simplified exits, and careful portfolio construction.

“We made the decision to sell our full stake now rather than wait for future liquidity,” explained George. “It’s about recognizing when opportunities align with both the company’s trajectory and our fund’s lifecycle.”

The firm completed five full exits and six partial exits, including a notable 5x return on its investment in Peach Payments, which was acquired by prominent South African investors.