Institutional capital to African ventures. Billionaire exit to finance. Community ownership on Ujamaa | Monday, December 29, 2025
Three stories define capital mobilization today.
Sanlam (pan-African insurer backed by billionaire Patrice Motsepe) made its first venture investment—$2.2 million into Moroccan retail fintech Woliz.
Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola exited his controlling stake in Geregu Power for $750 million, pivoting toward finance.
And in the United States, Actively Black—a Black-owned brand—announced it will open an equity investment round in 2026, allowing its community (the Tribe) to own stakes in the company.
All three stories represent the same principle: institutional capital and community capital are mobilizing around minority-led businesses and alternative ownership structures.
Sanlam Limited, Africa’s largest non-banking financial services provider, announced an equity stake in Woliz, a Moroccan startup digitizing neighborhood retail.
This marks Sanlam’s first venture-style investment.
Morocco has approximately 600,000 small retailers operating in cash, outside formal financial systems. Woliz connects them to payment systems, suppliers, credit, and digital consumers.
For Sanlam, the logic is dual: gain direct access to underserved market segments and learn retail fintech ecosystems that will inform product development across its 26-country footprint.
The strategic shift is significant. Sanlam historically focused on traditional insurance and asset management. Now, under pressure to double earnings by 2030, it’s expanding into private equity and venture investing where returns are steadier.
African institutional capital (insurers, DFIs, pension funds) is migrating from public equity into venture.
This creates a new source of growth capital for African startups without requiring them to navigate Silicon Valley’s networks.
Femi Otedola sold his 77% controlling stake in Geregu Power Plc for $750 million today, exiting Nigeria’s largest privately-owned power generator to focus on financial services.
Geregu generated 435 megawatts (approximately 10% of Nigeria’s national grid supply) and was valued at N2.85 trillion ($1.96 billion) as of December 2025.
Otedola took it public in October 2022 at N250 billion—the company appreciated 1,040% in three years.
MA’AM Energy Limited (linked to former Zamfara State governor Abdul-Aziz Yari), financed by a Zenith Bank consortium.
Otedola is redeploying capital toward financial services, particularly First HoldCo and related financial investments.
In the current macro environment, financial services offer better risk-adjusted returns than energy, which faces regulatory uncertainty and power-purchase agreement volatility.
Otedola’s exit proves African operators who build profitable, scalable infrastructure can achieve venture-scale exits and redeploy capital into new sectors.
It also demonstrates institutional capital (Zenith Bank consortium) will finance major transactions at scale without Silicon Valley VC participation.
