Almost everyone in business knows about Dragons Den or Shark Tank or Elevator pitch, the television series that gives businesses a limited time to pitch their business or concept to a panel of potential investors or funders.
Nervous entrepreneurs hoping that they will get the money to build their dream company or product and often running into a wall when they fail to meet the investors’ expectations.
Successful business funding pitches needs to hit the right notes that will make your company an investable asset for potential funders is fundamental to success.
A standout pitch can propel a startup from obscurity to success, and should be blending a combination of storytelling, accurate and relevant data, together with a vision of where to, in order to captivate investors’ attention.
While global examples like Airbnb and Canva set benchmarks, African startups have also delivered remarkable pitches, leveraging local insights and innovation.
Below, we explore five exceptional pitches—three global and two from African startups—highlighting their strategies and key takeaways for entrepreneurs.
Airbnb
Airbnb’s iconic pitch deck in 2008, got funders excited with the possibility of transforming a staid travel industry by addressing the problem of expensive, impersonal hotels.
Founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk used a very lean 10-slide presentation to present their simple and yet genius solution: Build a platform for renting unique, local accommodations.
With vivid visuals and a $30 billion market opportunity, they secured early funding, giving them the ability to scale and proving that simplicity wins.
Key Takeaway: Clarity is king. A concise deck focusing on problem, solution, and market size resonates deeply. Avoid clutter and prioritize a relatable narrative that hooks investors.
Canva
Back in 2013, Melanie Perkins pitched Canva as a user-friendly design platform, solving the complexity and user unfriendly tools found in the likes of Photoshop.
Melanies’ presentation drew parallels with Google Docs’ collaborative model, backed by market research showing demand for accessible design.
Clean visuals and bold projections helped Canva raise $1.5 million, leading to its $40 billion valuation today.
Key Takeaway: Use analogies to simplify complex ideas. Framing your solution against a familiar success story helps investors quickly grasp your vision and potential.
Buffer
Buffer’s pitch for its social media management tool in 2011, focused on the traction of its product, showcasing 55,000 users and $150,000 in annual revenue for the year.
Founder Joel Gascoigne was also completely transparent about gaps in his presentation such as the missing financial projections.
Instead he emphasized real-life metrics that were unarguable. This data-driven approach secured $500,000, that helped scale his business.
The approach of openness and focussing on what had already been accomplished proving that for investors, results speak louder than polish.
Key Takeaway: Highlight traction over perfection. Investors prioritize evidence of demand—users, revenue, or growth—over speculative promises. So it is critical to be able to showcase tangible progress.
Flutterwave
Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech, pitched a unified payment platform to simplify Africa’s fragmented digital transactions.
Founder Olugbenga Agboola highlighted the continent’s $100 billion digital payments market, using data from sources like Partech Africa to underscore growth potential.
The presentation deck featured client testimonials and showed early market traction with 60,000 merchants. The pitch secured $10 million in Series A funding, with Flutterwave’s focus on solving a local problem with global scalability leading to funding that has propelled it to its Unicorn Status and a $3 billion valuation by 2022.
Key Takeaway: Ground your pitch in local context with universal appeal. Quantify market size with credible data and show how your solution addresses unique regional challenges while offering global scaling potential
M-KOPA
This recently established Kenyan cleantech startup, pitched its pay-as-you-go solar solutions to unlock energy access for off-grid households. Their presentation deck opened with a compelling story of a rural family gaining light for the first time ever.
The story, backed was by solid metrics showing 3 million households served and $600 million in financing facilitated.
Emphasizing social impact and a scalable model, gave M-KOPA $75 million in funding, providing the purpose-driven innovation to scale further into Africa.
Key Takeaway: Blend emotion with impact. A human-cantered story paired with robust data—reach, revenue, or social good—creates a pitch that inspires and convinces investors to be part of the company’s story.
Polish is Great but Purposeful Presentations are a Winner
These pitches, from global giants to African trailblazers, demonstrate that success lies in clarity, evidence, and relevance. Flutterwave and M-KOPA show how African start-ups can shine by addressing local pain points with scalable, data-backed solutions.
For a winning pitch, entrepreneurs should craft narratives that resonate emotionally, prove traction, and align with investor priorities to unlock funding.
