It was a fitting homecoming for Africa’s startup sector. Ten years after ABAN was born to unite early-stage investors across the continent, the movement returned to where Africa’s entrepreneurs thrive the hardest, Lagos.

The 2025 ABAN Annual Congress, themed “Accelerating Local Capital Participation,” gathered hundreds of founders, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem enablers to tackle the question of “Who really funds Africa’s future?”

Representing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Lagos State commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, described the city, with 23 million people and more than 2,000 active startups, as a living, breathing symbol of African ambition. 

“Lagos stands as the commercial heartbeat of Africa and a city of boundless enterprise, boundless resilience and boundless innovation,” she said, welcoming the continent’s top angel investors.

She also noted the city contributes over 30% to Nigeria’s GDP and houses 65% of its industrial activity, but its actual power lies in what it’s building, a model megacity driven by innovation, not just infrastructure.

Through reforms, Lagos has simplified business registration, created startup funds, and is now developing the Lagos State Medical Innovation Industrial Zone, Ikorodu Industrial Hub, and a new International Convention Centre.

“Beyond the numbers, Lagos State is a story of determination, creativity, and possibility,” Ambrose-Medebem said. “It is where ideas become industries and where vision meets execution.”

Osinbajo: Believe Before You Build

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, speaking on the heart of Africa’s funding dilemma, said, “Without local belief and resilience, there is no local validation. Unless there is local belief and resilience, why should anyone invest in us?”

He challenged investors to become “the capital that understands the context, stays through the storm, mentors, guides, and builds companies designed to last in Africa or after that.”

“When we invest locally, we are not just funding startups, we are funding our own future.”

A Reality Check for Africa’s Angels

That future, however, still faces major gaps, as Khaled Ismail, chairman of HIMAngels, pointed out in his session on The State of Angel Investing in Africa.

He revealed that Africa now counts around 6,000 angel investors, up from barely a hundred a decade ago. Yet, only 10% of them are actively investing.

“Imagine all of those 6,000 were investing. Imagine how big the ecosystem would have grown,” he said.

The continent’s average angel investment ticket sits at $3,500 per year, compared to $15,000 in India, a country with the same population but five times more investors. That gap, Ismail argued, has ripple effects across the entire ecosystem.

“That’s 20 times more angel capital being poured into India’s ecosystem compared to Africa’s,” he said. “And it’s no surprise that they have more unicorns and exits, their base is simply bigger.”

But beyond the numbers, Ismail reminded us what true angel investing really means.

“It’s not just about making money. It’s about giving back, mentoring, sharing experience. If you don’t get involved, it will never happen,” he said. “Just putting your money and sleeping on it will not get you there.”

He called for better alignment between angels, founders, and venture capitalists, and for new clauses that let angels exit early when venture funding arrives, freeing up funds for fresh investments.

“If angels don’t exit, they won’t invest again,” he warned. “And if they don’t invest again, the pipeline breaks.”

Ten Years On: A Movement Grows

Commendably, ABAN also celebrated those who are building that pipeline. Adedotun Sulaiman was named Angel Investor of the Year, while Core Angels MEA received Angel Network of the Year.

For an ecosystem once dependent on foreign backing, the progress is concrete, but the work is far from over. Africa’s next decade of growth will depend on building confidence, capital, and collaboration at home.

In Osinbajo’s words, “Let’s first be believers.”

Investors who lost funds have now been told to pay up to $200 if they hope to retrieve what was stolen from them.

CBEX, which presented itself as a digital trading platform promising quick profits, shut down operations in April, locking thousands of Nigerians out of their accounts and wiping out savings. 

This led to public outrage and even violent reactions, with the scheme’s office in Ibadan looted during protests by angry victims.

Now, the scheme appears to be making a comeback, sending messages to past investors urging them to log into their accounts. Some report that account balances have suddenly reappeared, but with conditions.

“Someone told me to check my CBEX account this morning, claiming our balances had been restored,” one user told Peoples Gazette, sharing a screenshot showing a seemingly reinstated wallet.

But before withdrawals are allowed, users must pay a new activation fee. According to multiple victims, CBEX is asking for $200 from those who had invested more than $1,000. Investors with lower amounts are being told to pay $100.

“This seems like another trap—they’re asking for $200 to ‘continue trading’ before allowing withdrawals,” said another affected user.

This latest development has triggered fresh uneasiness that the operators may be attempting to recycle the fraud, capitalising on the desperation of victims who are still clinging to hope.

Back in April, CBEX claimed its systems had been “hacked” and blamed the shutdown on a cyberattack. Users were removed from discussion groups like Telegram, cutting off any chance of collective complaint or mobilisation. 

The so-called trading platform, which had guaranteed returns of up to 100% in 40 days, vanished without warning.

In the aftermath, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) launched an investigation, arresting several suspects and confirming that stolen funds had been moved across multiple foreign countries. Two additional collaborators were declared wanted last week.

The EFCC has admitted that full recovery of lost funds is unlikely, leaving many devastated families without restitution.

What’s happening now feels like a cruel second act. Instead of providing justice or resolution, CBEX is back to prey on those it already devastated, asking them to risk even more, for the slim chance of getting something back.