How to Build and Exit Your Tech Startup Intentionally in Nigeria

Building a tech startup in Nigeria is not for the faint-hearted. It requires vision, resilience,
and a willingness to adapt. My journey, from co-founding Vella Finance in 2021 to its
acquisition by Carbon in 2024 was marked by challenges, pivots, and ultimately, triumphs.
Here, I share lessons learned on how to build and exit your tech startup intentionally in
Nigeria.

Define Your Vision and Mission Early

Every successful startup begins with a bold vision. For us at Vella Finance, that vision was
to revolutionize crypto payments in Africa. This clarity of purpose provided a foundation
for our team and helped us attract early believers. However, defining your mission isn
just about dreaming big; it’s about solving a real problem and staying laser-focused on
delivering value to your target market.
Having a clear mission helps you communicate effectively with potential investor
partners, and customers. It serves as your north star, ensuring you don’t get lost in the
myriad challenges that come with building a business in Nigeria’s volatile environment.

Build a Resilient Team

A startup’s success is often tied to the strength of its team. My co-founder, Mark and I have
known each other from high school – we brought different skills to the table, but o
shared commitment to the vision was our greatest asset. We faced regulatory hurdles,
liquidity challenges, and shifting customer needs, but our team’s resilience and
adaptability carried us through.
Building a resilient team isn’t just about hiring skilled individuals; it’s about assembling
people who share your passion and are willing to go the distance. As a founder, you might
have to make sacrifices to retain top talent—whether it’s cutting your salary or goi
hungry to ensure your team gets paid. The right team will repay this investment by sticking
with you through the ups and downs, contributing innovative solutions, and driving your
startup’s growth.
Additionally, culture matters. A resilient team thrives in an environment that fosters
collaboration, accountability, and a shared commitment to the vision. Hiring slow and
firing fast is a principle every founder should embrace. My first hire was wrong, i had to
her go in one week – Bringing on the wrong person can be costly, not just financially, but
terms of morale and culture.

Embrace Pivots Without Losing Focus

One of the hardest decisions as a founder is knowing when to pivot. You could move to
selling banana to banana bread. At Vella, we started as a crypto-spending platform, but FX
volatility and regulatory uncertainties forced us to reconsider. We shifted to cross-border
payments using cryptocurrency, and eventually to SME banking. Each pivot was guided by
customer feedback and market realities.
Pivots are not failures; they are strategic responses to market conditions. However, a pivot
should be informed by data and aligned with your broader mission. At every stage, we
stayed true to our goal of enabling businesses to thrive by simplifying payments. This
focus ensured that each iteration of Vella added value to our users and positioned us for
long-term success.

Build for Value, Not Just Valuation

In Nigeria’s startup ecosystem, it’s tempting to chase funding milestones or flashy metric
However, sustainable value creation is what attracts the right customers, partners and
opportunities. At Vella, focusing on SME banking allowed us to solve real problems for
business owners, which eventually caught the attention of Carbon.
Value creation goes beyond product development, it’s about customer relationships,
operational efficiency, and delivering measurable outcomes. Investors and potent
acquirers look for startups that solve real problems in a scalable way. Focus on building a
product or service that people can’t live without, and the valuation will follow.

Funding and Transparency

Raising funds in Nigeria’s challenging economic environment requires strategy and
integrity. In 2022, we secured an undisclosed amount of USD in pre-seed funding. It was
not a large sum by global standards, but enough to validate our vision and sustain our
operations.
Any founder who’s intentional about exiting must be disciplined, trustworthy, and
transparent. You can’t afford to mismanage company funds after raising money fr
investors, and your books must be accurate. Keeping clean financial records and bei
transparent in your dealings builds trust with stakeholders and positions your startup for
success.
Additionally, seek out investors who align with your vision and understand the local
market dynamics. The right investors don’t just bring capital; they bring strategic guidance,
networks, and credibility.

Position Yourself for Acquisition

Exiting a startup isn’t about luck; it’s about intentional positioning. Carbon’s interest in
Vella wasn’t coincidental. Our pivots and focus on SMEs demonstrated our ability to adapt
and create value. More importantly, we built and pivoted with wisdom, mirroring the
successes of companies like Sterling Bank, Moniepoint, and other leading neo-banks.
Studying the strategies of bigger players helped us refine our approach. We adopted be
practices from their operations, product offerings, and customer engagement strategie
tailoring them to fit our unique market. This intentionality in building our product a
positioning it as a complementary solution made us an attractive acquisition target.
Key takeaway: Position your startup as a strategic fit for companies that can
benefit from your innovation. Study successful players in your space and adapt
their strategies to your context.

Transitioning After an Exit

Post-acquisition, my co-founders and I joined Carbon to lead their SME banking arm. This
transition allowed us to leverage our expertise on a larger scale while ensuring a smooth
integration. The lessons learned from Vella shaped our approach at Carbon, enabling us to
drive innovation and growth.
If you’re exiting, consider how you can continue to add value within the new structure. The
post-exit phase is not just an opportunity to scale your impact; it’s also a chance to learn
and grow within a larger organization.

Conclusion

Building and exiting a tech startup in Nigeria is a journey of grit, adaptability, and
intentionality. The ecosystem may be tough, but the opportunities are immense for those
who dare to dream big and execute with purpose.
To all aspiring founders: Embrace the challenges, learn from every setback, and keep your
eyes on the prize. Your startup has the potential to transform lives and create lasting
value.
Here’s to building intentionally and exiting successfully

Author

Tolu Adedayo

Co founder of Vella finance