Pan-African venture capital firm Launch Africa Ventures has exited its exposure to African payments company Peach Payments through a secondary transaction with 27four, underscoring the growing importance of secondary deals in Africa’s maturing venture capital ecosystem.
The transaction sees Launch Africa sell its secondary exposure in Peach Payments to 27four’s Nebula Fund, providing the South African asset manager with exposure to one of the continent’s fastest-growing fintech companies while allowing an early-stage investor to realize liquidity and recycle capital into new startups.
Launch Africa is one of Africa’s most active early-stage venture capital firms, backing more than 180 startups across two funds. The firm first invested in Peach Payments during the company’s seed round in 2021, before the Cape Town-based fintech went on to raise a US$31 million Series A funding round in 2023.
Founded in 2012, Peach Payments has evolved from a payment gateway focused on small businesses in South Africa into a broader payments infrastructure provider serving merchants of all sizes across nine African markets. The company offers payment acceptance, processing, reconciliation and merchant enablement services, with operations spanning South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius.
For 27four, the acquisition aligns with the investment strategy of its Nebula Fund, launched in 2023 to invest in high-growth, technology-enabled businesses across Africa.
“This transaction gives the 27four Nebula Fund exposure to a category-defining African fintech business through a secondary opportunity with Launch Africa Ventures,” said Tishanya Naidoo, principal at 27four.
“Peach Payments has built critical payments infrastructure for merchants operating in increasingly digital and cross-border markets. We see strong alignment between the company’s growth trajectory and our mandate to back scalable, technology-enabled businesses across Africa.”
Naidoo said secondary transactions are becoming an increasingly important feature of Africa’s venture capital landscape as startups mature and investors seek liquidity.
“They allow early investors to realise liquidity while giving later-stage investors the opportunity to support proven companies entering their next phase of growth. Peach Payments is a strong example of the type of African technology growth story we want to be exposed to,” she said.
For Launch Africa, the transaction represents more than a portfolio exit. The firm believes a healthy secondary market is essential to attracting more institutional capital into African startups.
“As a specialist early-stage VC fund, the importance of secondary liquidity in African venture capital cannot be emphasised enough as a means to justify greater participation from both LPs and angel investors alike in the recycling of capital into a rapidly maturing venture ecosystem,” said Zachariah George, co-founder and managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures.
George noted that Launch Africa was the first pan-African venture fund to back Peach Payments during its seed stage and has witnessed the company’s transformation from a regional payment gateway into a continental fintech infrastructure provider serving merchants across multiple African markets.
The deal reflects a broader shift in African venture capital, where secondary transactions are emerging as a key mechanism for providing liquidity to early investors without requiring portfolio companies to pursue acquisitions or public listings. As the continent’s startup ecosystem matures, such transactions are expected to play an increasingly significant role in recycling capital and broadening participation from institutional investors seeking exposure to high-growth African technology businesses.