Investing in Africa's Digital Future, Lexi Novitske, GP @ Norrsken22

Today’s Riding Unicorns episode is with Lexi Novitske, General Partner at Norrsken22, a $205m growth-stage fund backing transformative tech companies across Africa.

Lexi has spent over a decade living and investing in Nigeria, backing breakout African startups like Paystack, Flutterwave, and Smile Identity. As one of the continent’s most respected VCs, she shares how her team is building a truly Pan-African platform, with partners on the ground in Lagos, Johannesburg, and Nairobi, and why local presence and context are essential for investing in emerging markets.

Norrsken22 is on a mission to scale the outliers high-growth companies tackling infrastructure, financial inclusion, identity, healthcare and more and Lexi pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to win in this market.

In this episode, we discuss:

🌍 Africa’s startup boom and what global investors often get wrong
 📈 Why Africa’s massive, mobile-first population is a global tech superpower
 💸 The rise of Fintech, remittance, and payments infrastructure across the continent
 🧠 Building trust in low-trust environments and how tech is solving for identity & access
 📊 Valuation discipline and why applying Silicon Valley multiples doesn’t work in Africa
 🛠️ Infrastructure before apps and how context shapes investment strategy
 🤝 Partnering with international funds  - the good, the bad, and the nuanced
 🚀 Recent investments like Tyme Bank and what makes a Pan-African breakout
🇪🇬 Egypt, DRC, and beyond and which next-gen markets Lexi is most excited about
📚 Why VCs need empathy, not just capital, to invest in complex environments

Lexi also reflects on her evolution as an investor, the importance of local talent, and why venture success in Africa isn’t just possible, it’s already happening.

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Have a great Wednesday,
The Riding Unicorns team