Follow Us on Google Discover
Startups with valuations above $5 million may not be attractive to the Lagos Angel Network (LAN), according to Dr. Solomon King, Executive Director of the network.
King disclosed this during a panel discussion themed “The First Cheque: How African founders can unlock early-stage capital” at the GITEX Nigeria 2026 event in Lagos.
He explained that the network applies specific considerations when assessing startups, with its investment approach shaped by the stage and characteristics of the businesses it backs.
What Lagos Angel Network is saying
King said LAN is less inclined to back startups whose valuations have already grown too large by the time they approach the network.
Also Read
- “If your valuation is above $5 million, you probably won’t be attractive to the network because of how big you are and how small we will be in that lake,” he said.
However, King said that even though startups do not necessarily need to be highly developed, LAN also wants to see evidence that the business is already operating in the market and has made some revenue.
King said LAN looks for startups that have moved beyond the idea stage and are already building their businesses, with some evidence that the market is responding to their products or services.
- “As a network, for example, we usually won’t back a founder until you have made some revenue, at the very least maybe a thousand US dollars,” King said.
- “We want to be sure that you have customers, people who are willing to buy the products and the services that you’re producing,” he added.
Beyond the business, King said the network also evaluates the founders, particularly their temperament, character, and ability to withstand the challenges of building a company.
- “Some people don’t have the mettle to build an enterprise in our climate. Some people don’t have what it takes… they don’t have the guts, the resilience to drive it through,” he said.
King said investors also consider how founders might handle access to capital.
- “We usually look out for how a person might behave, for example, with 10k US dollars in their bank account,” King said.
Founders must understand where to seek capital
King also warned founders against assuming that every investor is suitable for their business.
He said entrepreneurs need to understand the funding ecosystem and identify investors whose mandates match their stage, sector, and capital requirements.
- “Nobody owes you capital. Nobody owes you funding. You owe yourself, however, the right complete knowledge of what obtains in the funding market that you are going to look for funding from.”
He explained that some investors focus on SMEs, while others target technology companies, agricultural businesses or fast-scaling startups.
As a result, a founder being rejected by one investor does not necessarily mean the business is not investable.
Rather, King said the entrepreneur may be approaching a source of capital that is not designed for the company’s particular stage or funding requirement.
Get up to speed
The Lagos Angel Network (LAN) was founded in 2014 as a member-only network of angel investors supporting early-stage ventures in Lagos through funding and mentoring.
Angel investors typically provide some of the earliest external funding available to startups, helping founders finance product development, test their markets and build traction before pursuing larger funding rounds.
The network has also been working to expand Nigeria’s pool of angel investors, as early-stage startups continue to face challenges accessing capital.
In 2025, LAN partnered with the African Angel Academy to launch the Lagos Angel Fellowship, a six-week programme designed to train and onboard new angel investors into the ecosystem.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that Nigerian startups raised $184.7 million across 51 disclosed deals in the first half of 2026, compared with $178.3 million across 63 deals in the corresponding period of 2025.
While the total funding value increased year-on-year, the number of disclosed deals declined, suggesting that capital was concentrated among fewer startups during the period.
The trend highlights the increasingly competitive funding environment facing early-stage founders, making access to the right investors and understanding where a startup fits within the funding ecosystem increasingly important.
