Which African countries have both great untapped talent and aren't hopelessly mired in corruption or violence and have a strong western-style legal framework? Those will be the ones that VCs feel safest investing in.
Until they are identified, I don't think VCs will put their money at risk. (They may already exist; I'm pleading ignorance here.)
They're already putting money at risk by investing in startups that are obvious flops. Or even startups that do stuff that won't fly even with western-style legal framework (Theranos).
Of course, but in the West, the flops are due to business failures. I'm referring to systemic risk, where you lose your money due to corruption and graft, often before it even gets into the hands of the venture.
Until they are identified, I don't think VCs will put their money at risk. (They may already exist; I'm pleading ignorance here.)