Ventures Platform, an African seed stage venture capital firm, has announced the final close of its second institutional fund, Ventures Platform Pan African Fund II, at $84 million, exceeding its initial $75 million target.<\/p>\n
The fund closed three years after the firm raised its first institutional fund and amid a more cautious global venture capital environment, according to a statement issued by the firm on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The latest close also expands the fund\u2019s institutional investor base, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norfund, Norway\u2019s development finance institution, Alphatron and Ashesi University Foundation joining as new investors.<\/p>\n
These investors join existing limited partners from the fund\u2019s first close, including the Nigeria Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank South Africa, British International Investment (BII), Proparco through the European Union backed Choose Africa VC programme, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), AfricaGrow and Alder Tree Investment.<\/p>\n
What they are saying<\/p>\n
The oversubscribed fund, Ventures Platform said, reflects growing institutional confidence in Africa\u2019s technology and innovation ecosystem and its strategy of identifying and backing founders at the earliest stages of company building.<\/p>\n
With the fund now closed, Ventures Platform said it will increase its focus on pre seed to Series A investments while retaining capacity to support high performing portfolio companies through subsequent funding rounds.<\/p>\n
The firm said the fund will back founders building businesses that address some of Africa\u2019s major economic and social challenges, with a focus on technology driven solutions across key sectors.<\/p>\n
Kola Aina, founding and managing partner at Ventures Platform, said the fund was ultimately about the entrepreneurs the firm would be able to support rather than the amount of capital raised.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross Africa, we\u2019re seeing a new generation of founders building enduring companies with greater technical depth, stronger governance, bigger ambition and a clear understanding of the markets they serve,\u201d Aina said.<\/p>\n
He added that the businesses were being built for resilience as well as growth, positioning them to create lasting value.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re deeply grateful for the confidence of our investors and excited to partner with ambitious founders solving meaningful problems across the continent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The fund\u2019s latest institutional backing comes as global investors continue to assess opportunities in Africa\u2019s technology ecosystem despite a more challenging funding environment for startups.<\/p>\n
Dirk Werner, managing director of Equity at EBRD, said innovation was increasingly shaping Africa\u2019s economic future, while venture capital remained underdeveloped relative to the continent\u2019s entrepreneurial activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy investing in Ventures Platform Pan African Fund II, we are helping to strengthen the market infrastructure that enables innovative businesses to access growth capital and scale their impact,\u201d Werner said.<\/p>\n
Get up to speed<\/p>\n
Ventures Platform announced the first close of its pan-African fund in 2021 after raising $40 million.<\/a><\/p>\n Participants in the first fund included Paystack CEO, Shola Akinlade, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); UAC Nigeria, one of Nigeria\u2019s oldest companies; VFD Group; and international investors including Y Combinator CEO, Michael Seibel and Adam Draper are among the others.<\/p>\n