After six years of operating as a venture capital fund within Nigeria’s dynamic startup landscape, Hux Ventures has announced a significant strategic pivot. The Lagos-based firm, founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Sam Ojei, will cease its VC operations and reemerge as a venture studio, a model that emphasizes building startups internally rather than investing in external ones.
This transition marks a notable departure from Hux’s previous approach, which involved deploying capital across sectors such as technology, healthcare, and renewable energy. Despite its activity, the firm maintained a low profile, never publicly disclosing the specific startups it backed or the size of its fund. This lack of transparency is not uncommon among smaller African VC firms, where early-stage investments often go unannounced due to limited media coverage and informal deal structures.
Now, Hux Ventures is shifting its focus from spreading capital across multiple startups to deeply engaging in the creation and development of a select few. This hands-on model allows the team to concentrate resources, expertise, and operational support on ventures they build from the ground up, offering a more controlled and potentially resilient path to success.
The move comes just a year after Hux launched Hux Fast, an initiative aimed at bridging funding and mentorship gaps for African founders. The program was designed as a lifeline for entrepreneurs struggling to access traditional capital markets. However, the decision to sunset the fund suggests a philosophical shift: Hux now believes that direct company-building yields more meaningful impact than providing light-touch support through capital and mentorship alone.
This change also reflects broader challenges facing early-stage venture capital across Africa. Deal flow has slowed, follow-on funding is increasingly difficult to secure, and many accelerators lack the capacity to offer sustained support. In this environment, the venture studio model presents a compelling alternative. It enables firms like Hux to maintain tighter control over startup development, reduce risk, and potentially build more robust companies that can weather funding droughts.
In a public statement, the Hux team emphasized that this is not a closure, but a rebirth:
Closing Hux Ventures is not the end. It is the beginning of something new. Our true passion is building.
Globally, venture studios are gaining traction as a hybrid model that combines startup creation, funding, and shared resources under one roof. In Africa’s fragmented and often undercapitalized startup ecosystem, this approach could help produce ventures with stronger foundations and better chances of long-term survival.
For Sam Ojei, named Nigeria’s Entrepreneurial Supporter of the Year in 2022, the shift aligns with his broader mission. In addition to Hux, he leads Foundersmax and Startup Cohort, both of which focus on empowering early-stage entrepreneurs. The transition to a studio model allows him to work even more closely with founders, embedding himself in the day-to-day process of building companies.
Ultimately, by stepping away from the traditional VC model, Hux Ventures is betting on depth over breadth. The firm aims to create fewer startups, but with greater involvement and stronger support. For Ojei and his team, the message is clear: the future lies in building from within, not investing from the sidelines.
