Stears and Ventures Platform Report Flags Exit Liquidity Gap

In Short

Africa is seeing more VC-backed startup exits, but investors are not necessarily getting cash back. A new Stears and Ventures Platform report says exit routes are still narrow.

What Happened

The Stears and Ventures Platform report tracked 181 verified VC-backed exits in Africa between 2011 and 2026. An exit is when early investors sell their stake, usually through an acquisition or a public listing.

The report says exits rose 36% while funding fell 33%. That mix can create the appearance of progress, even as fewer companies are getting fresh capital and more are being pushed to find buyers.

Acquisitions made up 73% of all exits. An acquisition is when one company buys another, often paying in cash, shares, or a mix of both.

International buyers also played a smaller role. They were 56% of disclosed exits in 2020, but fell to 33% by 2025.

Exits were concentrated in a few markets. Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya accounted for 81% of disclosed exits, while financial services delivered 30% of exits.

Why It Matters

More exits do not automatically translate to more liquidity. Liquidity means investors can turn their shares into cash without long delays or heavy discounts.

The report argues that Africa still has a shallow buyer pool, meaning there are not enough active acquirers and public markets to absorb late-stage startups. That can leave a backlog of companies that raised large rounds and now need to return capital in a market with limited exit options.

Ventures Platform managing partner Dr Dotun Olowoporoku said the problem is not too few exits, but narrow routes and slow diversification. For founders and fund managers, the implication is clear, liquidity planning needs to start early, not after the ecosystem “matures.”