When Nigerian remittance startup LemFi closed its $53 million Series B round in January 2025, one of the biggest winners was Sliverbacks Holdings. The Africa-focused private equity firm, which also invested in Flutterwave and Moove, quietly exited its stake in the round, achieving a 29x return on its initial investment—an extraordinary outcome in a funding environment where big wins have become increasingly rare.
The exit, Silverbacks’ eighth overall, aligns with the firm’s strategy of partially exiting its investments to realise profit. It is also the firm’s sixth exit from a Nigerian tech-enabled company and marks the fourth time a Nigerian fintech has delivered returns to Silverbacks’ investors.
“This 8th profitable exit, which delivered 29x cash invested, is another testament to the quality of our portfolio’s founders and the investment sophistication of the Silverbacks ecosystem, “ said Ibrahim Sagna, the executive chairman of Silverbacks Holdings. “ Our commitment remains to amplify African tech, sports, and creative spirits on the world stage.”
The exit comes as returns on investments for private capital exits in Africa remain below their 2022 peak of 82. Only 43 exits were recorded in 2023, a 48% decline from the previous year, and with just 31 exits by the third quarter of 2024, last year’s numbers are tracking similarly low.
Silverbacks Holdings has built a portfolio across Africa’s sports, media, fashion, and tech industries, with stakes in companies like Reliance, Gozem, Shuttlers, Carry1st, and the Cape Town Tigers Basketball Club. Reflecting this diversified approach, the firm recently added Sanford R. Climan, the CEO of Entertainment Media Ventures, to its advisory board.
“Africa’s tech, entertainment, sports, and creative industries are on the cusp of global recognition,” Climan said. “Joining Silverbacks and investing in AWFC aligns perfectly with my passion for transformative ventures at the intersection of media, technology, and culture.” The firm also recently invested in African Warriors Fighting Championship, a Nigerian Dambe (traditional boxing) promotion company.
Exits are essential to growing an ecosystem, and recent examples—Oui Capital’s exit from Moniepoint, Alitheia’s from Baobab, and Silverbacks Holdings’ from Lemfi—underscore how Nigeria’s fintech industry is quickly proving itself as probably the most profitable sector for African investors.
