The 10-slide pitch deck that works for Nigerian founders

You have six minutes. That's not an exaggeration — most investors will give you that before deciding whether to take the next meeting. Your pitch deck is the difference between a polite "send us your deck" and a calendar invite. Yet most Nigerian founders build decks that meander through problem statements, market sizing, and team bios in ways that lose investors by slide three.

This playbook gives you the exact 10-slide structure that works. We've seen it move founders from zero investor conversations to term sheets. It's based on what actually lands meetings at Techstars, Y Combinator, and with African VCs like Loftyinc, Chandaria Capital, and Founders Factory. More importantly, it's built for the way investors actually evaluate African startups — with skepticism about market size claims, deep focus on unit economics, and real questions about regulatory risk.

By the end of this, you'll know which slide kills most decks, why your market size slide is probably wrong, and exactly how to structure the narrative so investors see you as inevitable, not just possible.

Why the standard American pitch deck fails in Nigeria

Most founders copy the Y Combinator or Sequoia format they find online. Those decks work in Silicon Valley because investors there already believe in the problem space, the market size, and the founder's ability to execute. In Nigeria, you're working with a different set of assumptions.

First, your investor might not know your market exists. A VC in Lagos might not understand the cash flow problem for MSMEs in Kano, or why a B2B logistics play in Accra is valuable. You can't assume baseline knowledge.

Second, regulatory risk is real and it matters. When Flutterwave had to deal with CBN policy shifts, or when OPay faced pressure on fintech operations, investors learned that a great product in Nigeria can face existential headwinds overnight. Your deck needs to show you've thought about this.

Third, unit economics and path to profitability matter more than TAM. An investor will ask: can this work at scale without raising another round in 18 months. They'll scrutinise your assumptions about customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and burn rate.

The 10-slide structure below is built for these realities.

The 10-slide structure

Slide 1: Title slide (30 seconds)

One line. Your company name. Your tagline. That's it.

Not: "We are disrupting the African fintech space through blockchain-enabled peer-to-peer lending."

Yes: "Kola: instant payroll advances for gig workers."

The tagline should be so clear that a founder's mother understands it. If she doesn't, you're not ready. You can see how Kola does this — the product is obvious from the name.

Include your names and one contact email. No LinkedIn QR codes. No animations.

Slide 2: The problem (90 seconds)

Start with a specific person, not an abstract market. Not: "There are 40 million unbanked Nigerians." That's noise.

Yes: "Chioma is a logistics dispatcher in Lagos. She earns ₦50,000 a week but gets paid monthly. When her daughter got sick, she had no way to access her own earned money. She went to a moneylender and paid 15% interest."

Then: how big is this? How many Chiomas are there? Give a number with a source. "There are 4.2 million dispatch workers in Nigeria (NBS, 2023)." If you don't have a source, say "estimated" — investors will fact-check you.

End with: what does this cost Chioma? Money, time, risk. Be specific. "She loses ₦7,500 per incident to interest and fees. That's 15% of her weekly income."

This slide should make an investor nod and think: "Yeah, that's a real problem I didn't know about." If they're already thinking about the solution, you've moved too fast.

Slide 3: Why now (60 seconds)

Why is this solvable today when it wasn't two years ago?

Options:

• Technology shift: Moniepoint's agent network now covers 90% of Lagos. That's infrastructure you can build on.
• Regulatory change: The CBN's 2023 guidelines on fintech partnerships opened doors. Show the actual policy.
• Market maturity: M-Pesa proved the model works in East Africa. Now it's viable in West Africa.
• Founder timing: You worked at a bank for five years and now you see the gap. That's a "why now" reason.

Pick one. Be concrete. Not: "Africa is growing." Yes: "Kuda's 1 million users prove demand for mobile-first banking. We're building the next layer." (This is hypothetical. Kuda's actual user numbers are public.)

Investors want to know you're not five years too early. This slide proves you're not.

Slide 4: Your solution (90 seconds)

Show, don't tell. If you have a product, use a screenshot or a 15-second demo video. If you're pre-product, use a wireframe.

Walk through the user journey in three steps:

1. Chioma opens the app.
2. She requests ₦10,000 against her next week's pay.
3. Money hits her wallet in 10 minutes.

Then: how do you make money? Be direct. "We take 2% from the employer's payroll savings, and 1% from Chioma's advance." Or: "We earn 3% on the spread between our lending cost and what we charge users."

Don't hide your business model. Investors will ask anyway. If you don't have one yet, say so. "We're validating user demand first. Revenue model TBD." That's honest and acceptable at pre-seed.

End with one key differentiator. Not a list of five. One. "We're the only player with direct API integration to payroll software used by 60% of Lagos employers." That's defensible. "We have great customer service" is not.

Slide 5: Market size (90 seconds)

This is where most Nigerian founder decks fall apart. They claim a TAM of $50 billion and investors immediately discount them by 80%.

Use this framework instead:

TAM (Total Addressable Market): Start small and be defensible. Not: "Everyone in Africa." Yes: "All gig workers and informal sector employees in Nigeria with mobile money access. That's 12 million people (NBS, 2024)." If they earn ₦50,000 a month on average and we capture 5% of their monthly income in fees, TAM is ₦30 billion annually.

SAM (Serviceable Available Market): Where can you actually operate in year one? "Lagos and Abuja. That's 2 million gig workers. If we reach 10% penetration, that's ₦600 million annual revenue." Show the math.

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): What's realistic in three years? "We'll have 200,000 active users paying ₦5,000 per person per year in fees. That's ₦1 billion revenue." Again, show assumptions.

Use a table. Investors love tables. They make you look rigorous.

This is way more credible than "TAM is $10 billion."

Slide 6: Traction (60 seconds)

What have you actually done?

If you're pre-launch:

• "We've validated with 150 gig workers via WhatsApp surveys. 78% said they'd use this."
• "We have LOIs from three major payroll platforms."
• "We've built and tested the MVP with 20 beta users."

If you're live:

• "1,200 active users after six weeks."
• "₦2.5 million in transaction volume."
• "4.2-star rating on iOS with 800 reviews."

Pick three metrics. Not ten. Investors want to see momentum, not a dashboard. And be honest about what stage you're at. If you're pre-launch, say so. Investors can tell when you're hiding it anyway.

If you've got press coverage or partnership announcements, mention them. "Featured in TechCrunch Africa" or "Partnership with Paystack" goes here.

For context on what investors expect at different stages, see Raising pre-seed in Nigeria: what investors actually want in 2026.

Slide 7: Business model & unit economics (90 seconds)

This is the slide that separates serious founders from hopefuls.

Show:

1. How you make money: Be specific. "We charge users 1% per advance. We charge employers 0.5% for payroll integration."

2. Unit economics:

   • CAC: ₦500 (via referral and organic)
   • LTV: ₦8,000 (average user stays 18 months, generates ₦450 revenue)
   • LTV:CAC ratio: 16:1

3. Path to profitability: "At 100,000 users, we hit breakeven. We project that in month 24."

If your LTV:CAC ratio is below 3:1, you have a problem. Investors will see it. If you're not sure about these numbers, estimate but say so. "Based on early data, we estimate CAC at ₦500. We're refining this."

Don't claim profitability if you're still burning cash. It destroys credibility. Instead: "We're cash-flow positive on a per-user basis but investing in growth. We'll hit cash-flow breakeven at 150,000 users."

Slide 8: Competition & defensibility (60 seconds)

Investors know competitors exist. They want to know you know it too.

List three real competitors. Not: "Our only competitor is ourselves." That's a lie and they know it.

Yes: "Direct competitors: Earnin (US, not in Africa), Branch (Kenya-only), SafariCom M-Pesa (different use case). Indirect: moneylenders, employer advances."

Then: what's your defensibility?

• Network effects: "The more employers integrate, the more valuable for employees. Payroll platforms have high switching costs."
• Unit economics: "Our 2% take-rate is half the moneylender's 4-5%. We can undercut and still be profitable."
• Regulatory moat: "We've got CBN approval for fintech partnerships. New entrants will struggle with licensing."
• Data & relationships: "We have 60% of Lagos payroll software integrated. That's a 18-month lead."

Pick one defensibility angle and own it. Don't claim five weak ones.

For more detail on how investors evaluate competitive positioning, see Due diligence for African startups: what investors will ask for.

Slide 9: The team (60 seconds)

Investors fund teams, not ideas. Show:

1. Founder/CEO: Name, relevant background. "Chioma: 5 years at Flutterwave, led payroll integrations. Built the first version of this in a weekend."

2. Co-founder(s): What do they bring? "Tunde: Product lead at Kuda. Designed mobile-first UX for 500K+ users."

3. Key hires: If you have them. "Head of Operations: Folake, 8 years at Moniepoint agent network."

4. Advisors: One or two strong ones. "Advisor: Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Founder of Flutterwave and Andela."

Don't list ten people. Focus on depth of relevant experience. If you're missing something (e.g., you have no finance person), acknowledge it. "We're hiring a CFO in Q2." That's better than pretending you have one.

Include photos. Make it human. But keep it to one slide.

Slide 10: Ask & use of funds (60 seconds)

Be specific. Not: "We're raising ₦100 million." Yes: "We're raising ₦50 million seed round to:

• Product & engineering: ₦20M (hire two engineers, build payroll API v2)
• Sales & partnerships: ₦15M (three partnership managers, employer outreach)
• Operations & compliance: ₦10M (regulatory work, fraud detection)
• Runway: ₦5M (18 months at current burn)"

Then: where are you going next? "In 12 months, we'll have 100,000 users and ₦10M MRR. We'll be ready for Series A in mid-2027."

This tells investors you've thought about the next step. You're not asking for money to "figure it out."

Common mistakes Nigerian founders make

1. Spending three slides on the problem. Investors get it. Move on.

2. Hiding regulatory risk. Don't. Address it head-on. "The CBN could change fintech rules. Here's how we'd adapt." Investors respect that more than pretending it doesn't exist.

3. Claiming you have no competitors. You do. Name them. Show why you're different.

4. Using slides as a script. They're not. Your deck is a visual aid. You talk. The slides support you. If someone can read your deck and understand everything without hearing you, you've written too much.

5. Oversizing your TAM. Every founder in Nigeria claims a ₦5 trillion market. Investors divide by 10. Start with defensible numbers. You can always grow into a bigger market.

6. Forgetting to mention Nigeria-specific advantages. You have them. "We've got Moniepoint's agent network. That's 250,000 touchpoints. A US competitor would pay millions for that distribution." Use it.

7. Weak closing. Don't end with "Thank you for your time." End with: "We're raising ₦50 million to own payroll advances in West Africa. We want to talk to investors who believe gig workers deserve better. Let's grab coffee."

How to use this in practice

Start with a Google Slides template. Keep it simple. Black text, white background, one accent color. No animations. No transitions. No stock photos of people looking at laptops.

Font: Montserrat or Inter. 32pt minimum for headers. Readable from 10 feet away.

One idea per slide. If you're tempted to put two ideas on one slide, split it.

Test it with 10 people. Not your co-founders. Not your mum. Founders, operators, investors. People who will be honest. Ask: "What was unclear? What didn't you believe? What made you want to hear more?"

Refine based on feedback. Your first version will be wrong. That's normal.

Then: use it in meetings. Watch investor reactions. When do they lean forward? When do they check their phones? Adjust accordingly.

If you're applying to accelerators like Y Combinator, this structure works but you'll need to adapt it slightly for their specific prompts. See Y Combinator for African founders: a tactical applicant's guide for how to customize this for that context.

Examples from Nigerian launches

Kola uses this structure implicitly: problem (gig worker cash flow), solution (instant advances), traction (user growth), ask (Series A).

Gbedu leads with a clear problem (informal workers can't access credit), shows defensibility (music and entertainment data), and focuses on unit economics (how they make money from lenders and users).

Both founders understood that Nigerian investors need to see rigor, not just ambition.

FAQ

Q: Should I include a slide on our funding history? A: Only if it's impressive. "Raised ₦5M pre-seed from Loftyinc and Techstars Africa" is worth a slide. "Raised ₦1M from friends and family" is not. If you've raised before, mention it in the team slide or the ask slide, not as a standalone.

Q: How long should the full pitch take? A: Six to eight minutes for the deck. Then five to ten minutes for questions. If you're still talking at minute 12, you've lost them.

Q: What if I don't have traction yet? A: Show what you've done instead. Customer interviews, prototypes, partnerships in progress, pre-orders. Investors fund founders, not just metrics. If you've validated the problem rigorously, that counts.

Q: Should I include a slide on our go-to-market strategy? A: Only if it's non-obvious or capital-intensive. If you're selling B2B and your GTM is "partner with three major payroll platforms," that's worth a slide. If it's "we'll do sales and marketing," skip it. Focus on what's unique.

Q: How often should I update my pitch deck? A: Every two weeks if you're actively fundraising. New traction, new partnerships, new hires. Investors talk to each other. If your deck from three weeks ago claimed 5,000 users and you now have 8,000, they'll notice if you don't mention it.

What to do next

Build your 10-slide deck this week. Use the structure above. Aim for one slide per section.

Then, before you send it to investors, understand what they're actually looking for at your stage. Read Raising pre-seed in Nigeria: what investors actually want in 2026 to calibrate expectations.

Finally, if you're planning to raise seriously, prepare for detailed questions about your unit economics, regulatory risk, and competitive positioning. Due diligence for African startups: what investors will ask for walks through the questions you'll face in investor meetings and how to answer them credibly.