At a recent investor conference, early-stage Africa investor Oui Capital told limited partners it had returned $4 million of its initial offering fund after selling a stake in commercial banking platform Moniepoint.

The African fintech unicorn has so far proven to be an excellent investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. When it launched its first fund, it invested $150,000 in the Nigerian company, and that early investment has generated returns of $8 million, enough to repay the fund.

Specifically, last October, when Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C round led by Development Partners International at a $1 billion valuation, Oui Capital sold a stake in the deal; now, with the funding of repayment, any future returns will become pure profits for the investor.

This is a rare feat for a young VC firm – many around the world have failed to return their first funding – and even more rare in Africa’s VC ecosystem. Still, it highlights how lucrative some early-stage investments, particularly in fintech, can be on the continent. Oui Capital joins other pan-African investors such as CRE VC and 4DX Ventures in returning its first tranche of funds after backing other unicorns such as Andela and Flutterwave, according to two people familiar with investor transactions on the continent.

TechCrunch reached out to Oui Capital for comment, and the company confirmed the news.

Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) wasn't a household name when Oui Capital first considered it in 2019. At the time, the company primarily developed financial products and software for itself and banks.

Oui Capital, founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, was one of its earliest investors and one of the few to support the company's move to Moniepoint. Moniepoint is a commercial banking and payments platform that went on to become Nigeria’s largest commercial acquirer.

“They have been with us through every stage, from finding product-market fit to going into production,” Moniepoint co-founder and CEO Tosin Enioluwadara said of Oui Capital in a 2021 video. “Olu (Oui) Capital Managing Partner) are very helpful on the advisory side; we discuss strategy, governance and key matters affecting the company. They are also very helpful in our investment activities, from introducing potential investors to sometimes just thinking about our narrative and. position……"

Exits in the African tech sector remain low, with only 143 of 2,971 venture capital deals ending in exits since 2019, according to The Big Deal. Most startups are still in their early or growth stages—far from the maturity required for a major exit. Unlike developed markets with strong M&A and IPO options, Africa's tech ecosystem is still growing, so fewer startups are ready to exit.

On the other hand, venture capital typically takes 5 to 10 years to mature, so many Africa-focused VC firms are still waiting for returns. For Oui Capital, the wait took five years. An investor note seen by TechCrunch shows the company was valued at $12.5 million when it joined Moniepoint in its seed round.

Interestingly, smaller funds have an easier time generating returns due to their smaller size. Data from Cambridge Associates, which builds and manages portfolios for institutional investors, confirms the trend.

But more importantly, Oyinsan attributes the company's traction so far to its fund's portfolio construction. “It’s not just about fund size, it’s about what you invest in, your entry price, how much equity you own, how much you invest and when you decide to exit,” he told TechCrunch.

Other startups in Oui Capital’s portfolio include Duplo, which digitizes payment processes for B2B businesses in Africa; Maad, a B2B e-commerce platform for fast moving consumer goods; and Matta, a B2B marketplace for chemicals, from its first fund, Mentors Fund 1.

The investor manages 22 startups across two funds, writing checks of up to $400,000 to seed-stage startups across Africa.

In 2022, Oui Capital launched its second fund, Mentors Fund 2. Oyinsan said that while the early-stage company had an initial goal of $30 million, the ultimate goal is $12 million. He also said that while the fund has no plans to rush to raise capital due to its strong position, it could raise a third fund later this year.