Brief
Norrsken22 partner says Chinese firms are outpacing US investors in African AI
Norrsken22 general partner Lexi Novitske says Chinese companies now lead African AI while US investors pull back.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Lexi Novitske, a general partner at pan‑African growth fund Norrsken22, told TechCentral that Chinese firms have built a foothold in African technology step by step – first phones and telecoms gear, then fintech, and now the AI models used by local startups. She added that American private capital is retreating and US investors may later regret missing the market.
Novitske, who moved to Nigeria in 2012, said Chinese‑backed fintechs OPay and PalmPay succeeded by absorbing years of losses, a strategy that now makes regulators uneasy. She noted that African startups increasingly rely on cheaper Chinese AI models such as Alibaba’s Qwen, limiting US firms' access to data and future growth.
The fund closed its debut $205 million fund in 2023 and is halfway through deploying capital, with no exits yet. Novitske expects Egypt and South Africa to offer the best near‑term opportunities, with Nigeria likely to follow.
Key facts
- Chinese companies have progressed from telecoms to fintech to AI models in Africa (techcentral.co.za)
- US investors are pulling back from African tech, according to Novitske (techcentral.co.za)
- Norrsken22's debut fund raised $205 million in 2023 and is halfway deployed (techcentral.co.za)
- Chinese‑backed fintechs OPay and PalmPay won the Nigerian market by absorbing losses (techcentral.co.za)
- African startups are increasingly building on Chinese AI models like Alibaba’s Qwen (techcentral.co.za)
Sources
- [1] techcentral.co.za — originally reported as “TCS | Norrsken22's Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech”
