Silverbacks Holdings, an Africa-focused private investment firm, has recorded its 10th portfolio exit following the acquisition of Nigerian open banking fintech startup Mono by payments company Flutterwave, as the firm expands its bets into sports.
The exit, completed in an all-stock deal in early January, underlines a broader pattern in African venture markets: fintech, particularly payments and infrastructure, continues to offer the clearest path to exits. But Silverbacks is now shifting its sights to African sports, a less-invested sector.
“Our successful exit from Mono, achieved through consolidation with Flutterwave, validates our early conviction in foundational African fintech,” said Ibrahim Sagna, Silverbacks Holdings Chairman.
The Mono acquisition was structured as an all-stock deal, meaning Silverbacks received Flutterwave shares rather than cash. The value of the exit is tied to the market value of those shares, and the headline figure may change depending on the price of Flutterwave’s stock at the time of any future liquidity event.
Leveraging the exit momentum, Silverbacks has secured fresh capital and high-profile backing for its sports platform. The new capital came from Hollywood actor and director Boris Kodjoe and South African film producer Pepsi Pokane, who have now joined the firm’s board of advisers.
“Sports and entertainment are equally important in creating economic and cultural impact in Africa and beyond, and they illustrate best the convening power of our diaspora on the global stage,” said Kodjoe.
Silverbacks’ sports portfolio spans combat sports, basketball, and sports technology. Its assets include the African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC), the Cape Town Tigers basketball team, and sports-tech innovator NERGii. The firm added that it is building the premier platform for African sports and entertainment to connect with the world.
Silverback said the combination of its fintech exit and fresh capital for its sports portfolio reflects its broader thesis on Africa’s high-growth technology and entertainment sectors. Over the past five years, the company has recorded an overall 13.7x cash-on-cash fintech return across its fintech investments. The firm recorded a 29x return on its LemFi remittance investment following the startup’s $53 million Series B raise and a 5x cash-out from OmniRetail, a Nigerian B2B commerce platform that ranked among Africa’s fastest-growing companies before its partial sale.
Pokane said his decision to invest in Silverbacks was driven by what he sees as a game-changing convergence in African sports: “Silverbacks’ sports platform, with its blend of premier teams and tech innovation such as AWFC, is poised to redefine how African sports content and intellectual property are created, distributed, and consumed globally.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that Silverbacks’ exit from Mono was an all-stock deal. References to “redirecting gains” have been corrected to reflect a strategic shift in the firm’s investment focus toward the sports sector.