Analysing the Determinants of High-Tech Startup Failure in Nigeria: A Post-Mortem Study

This study conducts an empirical post-mortem analysis of high-technology startup failures in Nigeria, identifying and systematically analysing the causes of business failure among ventures in the country's technology sector to fill a significant evidence gap in Nigerian startup research, which has predominantly focused on success narratives. Understanding the causes of startup failure provides critical learning that benefits both future entrepreneurs and the support institutions that fund and advise them, yet post-mortem research on Nigerian tech startups is very limited, partly due to the social stigma of failure and partly due to the absence of systematic failure documentation mechanisms. The study employs a retrospective qualitative methodology, identifying 35 Nigerian tech startup founders whose ventures ceased operations between 2019 and 2023 through snowball sampling via entrepreneur communities and former incubatee networks in Lagos and Abuja. In-depth retrospective interviews were conducted with consenting founders. Failure mode and effects analysis and thematic coding were applied to interview data. Findings identify nine recurring failure modes, with premature scaling, co-founder relationship breakdown, and product-market fit failure as the three most common proximate causes. Structural causes include insufficient runway capital, inadequate technical talent retention, and overreliance on a single customer or revenue source. Regulatory compliance failures are a significant contributor in the fintech and healthtech subsectors. The study argues that many Nigerian tech startup failures are preventable through earlier and better access to experienced mentorship and co-founder relationship management support. Keywords: startup failure, post-mortem analysis, technology startup, Nigeria, failure modes.