New Delhi, Nov. 6 -- Ventures Platform, an early-stage African venture capital firm that has backed more than 90 tech-enabled companies across the continent, has marked the first close of its second fund after securing commitments worth 85% of the final close target.
The Abuja-headquartered VC firm has raised $64 million to hit the first close of its pan-African Fund II, which aims to mop up a total of $75 million, the firm said in a statement.
The firm said that returning LPs contributed 70% of the amount. The fund secured limited partner commitments from investors such as the World Bank Group's private-sector investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC committed $6 million towards the fund.
Other key LPs that participated in the first close include Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme (iDICE), Bank of Industry Ltd, Standard Bank South Africa, British International Investment, Proparco, MSMEDA, AfricaGrow (AllianzGI), Aldertree, and Michael Seibel, among others.
"When we launched this fund a year ago, we set a target of $75 million, so this first closing is significant.With this capital, we will strengthen our seed strategy, catalyze Series A rounds, and expand our footprint across Francophone and North Africa," the firm said in its announcement.
Ventures Platform, led by founders Kola Aina and Dotun Olowoporoku, invests in companies that solve non-consumption issues and fill infrastructural gaps, predominantly in Nigeria. The firm has an active portfolio of more than 75 companies currently.
The VC firm aims to deploy capital in early-stage startups in sectors such as fintech, life sciences, edtech, digital infrastructure, enterprise SaaS, and agritech. Besides the seed stage, it will make follow-on investments for portfolio companies up to Series A. Besides Nigeria, it will also evaluate investment opportunities in Kenya, Egypt, and the Francophone West Africa region.
Earlier this year, the VC firm made a follow-on investment in Nigerian fintech startup Raenest's $11 million Series A round. It also led fintech player JuiceWay's $3 million pre-seed round. It had led a $7 million funding round for Shekel Mobility, a B2B marketplace for auto dealers in Africa, in 2023.
Ventures Platform had raised $46 million in 2022 for its maiden fund, surpassing its initial target by $6 million. The fund was backed by a slew of DFIs, global institutional investors, and HNIs, including Standard Bank, IFC, British International Investment, A to Z Impact, and FISEA.
The first fund's portfolio includes Nigerian savings platform Piggyvest, healthtech startup Remedial Health, and integrated retail platform OmniRetail.
Fintech accounted for the largest share of deployment, followed by SaaS, B2B, and healthtech, according to the VC firm's Impact 2023 report. It has also invested in startups in sectors such as logistics, autotech, insurtech, and cleantech.
Ventures Platform, which has made a majority of its investment in Nigeria, has also invested in 12 non-Nigerian startups. These include Ghana-based financial services platform Notto, Zambian fintech player Union54, and Egyptian online car inspection service platform Karcel.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.