Oui Capital — pronounced "wee", French for "yes" — built its identity around a single promise: "to be the first yes that founders hear." The Lagos-based early-stage VC, founded in 2018 by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli (it officially launched in January 2019), set out to bridge Africa's early-stage financing gap — and today backs pre-seed and seed startups across the continent from its Victoria Island, Lagos headquarters.

Thesis and themes

The firm's founding hypothesis, per its homepage: "In 2019, we hypothesized that the African startup ecosystem was coming of age, and set out to help bridge the early-stage financing gap on the continent. Today, we are among the first 'yeses' founders hear as they embark on their startup journey." Its investment themes: digital commerce (e-commerce, mobility/logistics), enterprise software, human capital (healthtech and edtech), and fintech, including crypto-based solutions. Founder support spans fundraising and strategic finance, sales and go-to-market, and talent.

Team

Olu Oyinsan, Co-founder & Managing Partner, is a former founder, technology banker, and researcher who has been investing in African startups since 2017; he was previously Vice President (Investments) at Ingressive Capital, with earlier stints at Guaranty Trust Bank, Hult Business School, Forrester Research, and Silicon Valley Bank's Early Stage Practice. Francesco Andreoli, Co-founder & Venture Partner, is an ETH-trained engineer and former IBM software engineer who previously co-founded Wifi Monkey with Oyinsan. Principal Saeed Seghosime brings private equity and VC deal experience across transactions with a cumulative value exceeding $200M.

Fund size and cheques

Oui Capital's Fund I was $10M, deployed within three years. Fund II — the Oui Capital Mentors Fund II, launched in August 2022 — is a $30M vehicle backed by a mentor pool including Foundry Group partners Brad Feld, Seth Levine, and Ryan McIntyre. The firm invests $250,000–$500,000 per company (with Fund II initial cheques up to $750,000 plus follow-on reserves), targeting 5–10% ownership — and says it funds roughly 2% of companies that apply.

Notable portfolio companies

Recent portfolio names include Duplo, Moniepoint, Akiba Digital, Herconomy, PharmacyMart, and Maad; earlier investments include MVXchange, AWA Bike, TeamApt, Dr CADx, Vite, OkHi, INTELLIGRA, and AMOpportunities — spanning Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, and beyond.

Programmes

No founder-facing programme or accelerator run by Oui Capital could be verified from public sources, and no portfolio perks or credits are publicly disclosed.

Why it matters for founders

If you are a pre-seed or seed founder in Africa, Oui Capital lives up to its name: a first cheque of $250,000–$500,000 in digital commerce, enterprise software, fintech, or human capital — plus hands-on help with fundraising, go-to-market, and talent. With a $30M second fund, it is one of the continent's most active early-stage lead investors.