Scaling Beyond Your First Market: The Expansion Playbook

When to Expand

The temptation to expand early is strong, especially when investors ask about your pan-African strategy. But expanding too early is one of the most common ways African startups fail. OPay's success came from dominating Nigeria before expanding; many competitors spread too thin and lost everywhere.

The right time to expand is when you've achieved true product-market fit in your first market, your unit economics work, and you have the team and capital to execute without compromising your core business.

Choosing Your Next Market

Not all African markets are created equal. Consider regulatory complexity (Kenya's fintech regime differs dramatically from Nigeria's), market size, competitive landscape, and cultural fit. Wave succeeded in Senegal by choosing a market where mobile money was underdeveloped and their product had a clear advantage.

Also consider operational complexity. East Africa requires different payment rails, different languages, different partnerships. Can you handle that while still growing your first market?

Execution Matters More Than Strategy

The best expansion strategies fail without great local execution. This usually means hiring local leadership early—people who understand the market, have networks, and can make decisions without headquarters approval. The founders who try to run multiple markets from one country usually underperform.