Building in Africa: The Path to Exit
Afridigest's 'Building in Africa' series brings together founders and business builders across the continent for practical discussions on strategy and execution.
Every founder dreams of building a valuable company, but few entrepreneurs in Africa openly discuss what it takes to sell a startup successfully once you've created real value.
This panel explores the realities of selling startups in African markets with founders who've actually done it — a conversation that's particularly timely as more African companies reach exit-ready scale and M&A activity accelerates.
The Path to Exit: The Art & Science of Selling a Startup in Africa.
We'll have an honest discussion about:
How & why to build a startup that's attractive to acquirers from day one
The decision to sell vs. continue operating — and market realities that influence African startups' strategic choices
The practical realities of valuation and deal negotiations in African markets
Managing the complexity of cross-border M&A while running day-to-day operations
What the exit process actually looks like behind the scenes
How to protect your team, customers, and vision through transitions
Lessons learned and what founders wish they'd known before selling
Life after exiting
Featuring the following business builders:
— Opeyemi Awoyemi - Serial entrepreneur who in 2021 sold Nigerian job recruitment platform Jobberman to One Africa Media (an entity formed by the merger of South Africa's Private Property Holdings and Kenya's Cheki Africa Media) and in 2025 sold Nigerian web hosting provider GO54 (formerly WhoGoHost) to South Africa/Europe's HostAfrica
— Paul Damalie - Founder & CEO who built and successfully sold Ghanaian identity verification & digital KYC platform Appruve to industry leader Smile ID for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock rumored to be “not more than $20 million."
Moderated by: Emeka Ajene (Afridigest)
This is a must-attend event for anyone serious about building or investing in African startups.
Founders: Get exit playbooks and practical insights on navigating selling companies from experienced entrepreneurs
Investors: Better understand exit dynamics and founder perspectives on company sales to support portfolio companies toward successful outcomes
Other Executives: Move past theoretical discussions to real-world insights from builders who've actually sold their companies
Afridigest offers ideas, analysis, and insights in modern business in Africa.
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