Africa’s early-stage startups are facing a new funding squeeze as venture capital firms increasingly prioritize backing proven companies over riskier young ventures in a bid to deliver returns to investors. In the first half of the year, African startups raised around $1.4 billion, on par with the same period last year. African VC fund managers are “coming under a lot more scrutiny in terms of cash returns, not just paper performance,” Justin Stanford, partner at South African early-stage investor 4Di Capital, said. Investors are being more discerning when assessing startups for realistic exit timelines, he said, “pushing managers to be more later stage” and dampening early-stage deals. 4Di, which backed AI-enabled agritech Aerobotics and Kenyan ecommerce logistics startup Wasoko in their earliest funding rounds, is preparing to raise a larger warchest that will succeed its current $20 million fund.