In April 2020, through the peak of the pandemic, HoaQ, an angel investor syndicate, was fashioned in Dublin, the European metropolis house to huge tech corporations like Google and Meta. It had a single aim: pooling investments from professionals to put money into early-stage African startups.
At its inception, HoaQ was run by Joe Kinvi and Nubi Kay, with its preliminary investments in Bamboo, a Nigerian funding startup (now at Sequence A). By October 2020, the eye from Paystack’s $200 million acquisition by Stripe spurred investor pleasure in Africa’s tech ecosystem and grew the syndicate’s membership.
After formalising the syndicate in 2021 because of rising curiosity, Kinvi and Kay confronted operational challenges in cash motion, funding paperwork, and guide administration as they ran the syndicate part-time.
Round this time, Yewande Odumosu, now managing associate of HoaQ’s fund, joined. Odumosu was feeling constrained by the slender fintech infrastructure focus of her earlier funding syndicate.
“I realised I used to be referring so many individuals to HoaQ that I would as properly make investments with them too,” she mentioned. “Over time, as I turned extra concerned, we noticed the necessity for a devoted fund to again early-stage founders earlier than offers moved too quick. That’s how the HoaQ Fund happened.”
The fund has now launched and can function alongside the syndicate.
“The syndicate stays energetic for buyers who need to handpick offers, whereas the fund caters to those that want passive investing,” Odumosu mentioned. “Each share the identical funding philosophy however provide totally different buildings to accommodate various investor preferences.”
The fund will make investments between $25,000 and $50,000 in 30 founders with area experience and technical know-how with the potential to scale globally, and also will reserve some capital for follow-ons.
HoaQ just lately secured exits from two startups: Baseline, acquired by Cloudflare, and Raenest, which delivered 600% web returns to buyers—$1,000 invested returned $6,000 after charges.
“We’ve additionally had failed investments, however even there, we prioritised transparency and correct wind-downs,” Kinvi mentioned. “ Two returned 20 cents on the greenback, and one returned 50 cents on the greenback. Traders appreciated the readability and the partial refunds—many syndicates merely vanish when issues go south.”
Regardless of its small cheque measurement, founders nonetheless take capital from HoaQ due to its status and community. Over time, HoaQ has constructed an angel community with hundreds of operators, founders and small-time buyers.
“Founders carry us into offers due to what we provide past cash—introductions, steering, and publicity,” Odumosu mentioned. “We’ve co-invested with YC, Techstars, Visa Accelerator, Ventures Platform, and others. Our portfolio contains over 100 startups within the membership and 17 by means of the fund throughout 7 international locations.”
TechCabal spoke to Yewande Odumosu, who runs the fund; Joe Kinvi, who has transitioned to operating Borderless, an funding know-how platform; and Folakemi Osho, who runs the angel syndicate.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
What prompted the shift from an angel collective mannequin to forming a structured enterprise fund?
As founders, operators, and angel buyers, we recognised a robust correlation between our distinctive experiences, which allowed us to determine compelling alternatives within the early-stage funding house. Nevertheless, we quickly realised that to successfully make investments on the earliest phases, both earlier than or alongside the collective, we would have liked devoted early-stage capital. This perception led us to discover methods to lift that capital, finally ensuing within the creation of a structured enterprise fund.
Reasonably than a shift, this was a pure evolution—an growth to make sure each the fund and the collective might coexist and proceed supporting distinctive founders tackling uncommon and transformative alternatives by means of know-how.
How did your authentic community or group of angels affect the fund’s early deal sourcing?
Earlier than the fund was established, HoaQ membership had already constructed a robust observe file of investing in distinctive groups and startups. In consequence, we had entry to high-quality deal circulate and a gradual pipeline of alternatives. Over time, we started attracting different skilled founders and receiving referrals from each our portfolio founders and the broader angel community.
As HoaQ’s status grew, we additionally noticed elevated curiosity from co-investors eager to associate with us. This robust community continues to drive high-quality deal circulate for each the membership and the fund. Whereas the fund takes a extra hands-on method, prioritising devoted assist and deeper engagement with its portfolio startups, the membership performs a broader function within the ecosystem, providing strategic assist by means of tailor-made occasions, ecosystem initiatives, and community-driven packages that profit startups, buyers, and different stakeholders.
What had been the most important rising pains within the evolution—operationally, strategically, or culturally?
The most important distinction between operating a membership/collective and an early-stage enterprise fund is the extent of construction, accountability, and engagement required. A collective operates with extra flexibility—buyers take part on a deal-by-deal foundation, and capital is raised as alternatives come up. In distinction, a enterprise fund requires formal fund administration, regulatory compliance, capital commitments upfront, and a extra structured funding thesis. Moreover, a fund typically takes a extra hands-on method with portfolio corporations, offering deeper strategic assist past capital.
Operationally, managing a fund requires organising institutional-grade processes, dealing with LP relationships, making certain compliance, and sustaining rigorous reporting requirements. Not like a collective, the place investments are extra advert hoc, a fund requires ongoing capital administration, portfolio monitoring, and structured decision-making.
Strategically, the evolution from a collective to a fund means refining funding theses, defining portfolio building methods, and balancing danger throughout a structured fund lifecycle. The fund additionally must differentiate itself in a aggressive early-stage market whereas sustaining entry to robust deal circulate.
Culturally, the transition impacts each inner operations and exterior relationships. Internally, it requires a mindset shift from opportunistic investing to long-term portfolio constructing. Externally, expectations change—founders and LPs search for deeper engagement, structured assist, and a transparent imaginative and prescient for fund efficiency over a number of cycles. Sustaining the community-driven spirit of the collective whereas adapting to the calls for of fund administration is a key cultural problem.
What has been the toughest problem on this transition?
One of many hardest challenges on this transition has been fundraising as an rising fund supervisor. Not like elevating capital for a collective, the place buyers commit on a deal-by-deal foundation, a fund requires securing long-term commitments from LPs, typically in a extremely aggressive panorama. Whereas there may be loads of capital available in the market, early-stage funds and first-time fund managers typically wrestle to entry it, as most LPs are inclined to favour established companies with a number of fund cycles behind them. The truth is that regardless of a robust observe file and a compelling funding thesis, the ecosystem doesn’t present sufficient structural assist or capital allocation for brand spanking new fund managers. This makes fundraising for a fund an uphill battle.
What’s your core funding thesis?
HoaQ invests in founders who’re constructing tech and tech-enabled startups for Africa and its diaspora. Our core mission is to offer early-stage funding to entrepreneurs, particularly focusing on Africa and diaspora-based founders who display technical experience and are poised to capitalise on well-defined, substantial market alternatives, usually exceeding a market measurement of over $1 billion. We recognise the potential for transformation and development inside these markets and are devoted to fuelling innovation that brings about lasting change.
What are your most well-liked sectors?
We’re sector-agnostic however are inclined to give attention to areas the place we have now important expertise or area experience, both personally or by means of our intensive community. Whereas we stay open to alternatives throughout varied sectors, we imagine that backing excellent groups who possess deep conviction, a novel imaginative and prescient, and the power to execute is an important issue. Our sector focus naturally aligns with the place we will add probably the most worth by means of our community and information, however we’re all the time opportunistic about distinctive groups that will come from exterior these areas.
Joe Kinvi and Nubi Kay
What particular standards or indicators do you search for when deciding which startups to again?
When deciding which startups to again, we search for a number of key standards and indicators, like distinctive founders, as a result of we prioritise robust, succesful founders with a transparent imaginative and prescient, deep area experience, and the power to execute. Their observe file, ardour, and resilience are important elements. Past the founder, we search for a robust, complementary staff with numerous expertise and the power to adapt and execute.
We additionally assess the scale and development potential of the market the startup is focusing on. A big, increasing market with clear ache factors is important for scalability. The startup should provide an answer that’s differentiated, both by means of know-how, innovation, or an unfair benefit that units it aside from rivals.
We additionally consider how properly the enterprise mannequin can scale and the way the startup plans to develop. We search for a transparent path to profitability and market management. There have to be robust early-stage traction, whether or not within the type of product-market match, buyer acquisition, or income, to offer confidence within the startup’s potential for achievement. General, we give attention to sectors the place we or our community have deep experience, making certain that we will present significant assist to the startup past simply capital.
How do you discover your offers now?
Each the membership and the fund work exhausting and are deeply concerned in sourcing and evaluating alternatives, making certain that we persistently have entry to high-quality deal circulate. Our status within the ecosystem additionally attracts founders who search us out straight. We additionally discover high quality offers by means of a mixture of referrals from our extensive community of over 750 angel buyers and 100+ ecosystem stakeholders, in addition to by means of ongoing relationships with co-investors and different enterprise funds. Moreover, we evaluate pitch submissions by means of our web site, which gives one other priceless channel for locating promising startups.
Has your method to due diligence modified because you formalised right into a fund?
Since we developed to have each the membership and the fund, our method to due diligence has remained largely the identical, with each the membership and the fund adopting the identical rigorous course of. Whereas the method has improved and continues to evolve, our core focus stays on backing distinctive founders. We prioritise robust groups, deep market understanding, and the power to execute on their imaginative and prescient.
Though we now have extra formal checks and balances in place, our method continues to be rooted within the values of the membership, which continues to function alongside the fund. We conduct thorough evaluations and due diligence, however the important thing precept of supporting founders with hands-on, strategic steering stays central to each the membership and the fund.
What’s probably the most pivotal query you ask founders that helps you establish whether or not they’re a very good match?
One of the crucial pivotal questions we ask founders is: “Why are you the suitable individual to construct this firm, and why now?” This helps us assess their deep conviction, the staff and observe file, distinctive insights, and talent to execute. A robust reply demonstrates not simply market alternative but additionally the founder’s edge, whether or not by means of expertise, imaginative and prescient, or an unfair benefit that units them aside.
Moreover, we ask: “What’s the market alternative you’re focusing on, and the way do you intend to seize and broaden inside it?” This helps us assess their understanding of the market potential and the way properly they’re positioned to grab development alternatives.
We additionally give attention to development by asking: “How do you envision scaling this enterprise, and what are the important thing milestones to get there?” This offers perception into their strategic considering, execution plan, and long-term imaginative and prescient.
Lastly, one of many key questions we ask is: “What are the most important dangers you anticipate as you scale, and the way do you intend to navigate them?” This helps us perceive their consciousness of potential challenges and their means to suppose critically about danger mitigation.
You’ve made no less than two current exits. Are you able to share the backstory of the way you found every startup and what gave you the conviction to take a position?
Sure, Raenest and Baselime. We had been very fortunate to have invested in each corporations, they usually have one factor in frequent: they’re distinctive founders. For Reanest, we needed to persuade the founders to permit us to take a position as a result of we understood the issue they had been fixing. Getting international financial institution accounts stays a problem for African founders and companies, and we knew how essential it was to again an organization like Raenest. Final 12 months, when Brex and Mercury stored unbanking our founders, Raenest got here to the rescue. Whereas we’re now not buyers (we exited on the sequence A), we’ll proceed to assist Raenest and maintain recommending them to startups and companies within the ecosystem.
We met Boris of Baselime when he simply began constructing the enterprise. Whereas we didn’t know a lot about observability as code, we understood the elemental idea. Boris broke it down on the primary name and we received it. One factor about nice founders is that they can clarify their enterprise to a 5-year-old and an skilled. That’s a ability. Baselime exited to Cloudflare, a Fortune 500 firm and that’s no small feat. We had been very lucky to have invested in somebody like Boris.
Joe Kinvi and Yewande Odumosu
Have been these partial or full exits? Why did you resolve to exit at that individual stage, and what elements influenced that timing?
These had been full exits. One was a full acquisition (Baselime) whereas the opposite we exited absolutely at Sequence A (Raenest). We invested on the pre-seed and have a rule that we’ll contemplate divesting after two or extra rounds. This permits us to offer returns to our buyers. Folks make investments for returns and we have to do what’s in the perfect curiosity of our buyers. Contemplating how dangerous the asset class is, it’s important to point out that returns do occur. It is a good sign for your complete ecosystem.
What do you suppose differentiated your assist from that of different buyers?
What differentiates our assist from that of different buyers is our hands-on, founder-first method. We don’t simply present capital—we actively interact with the startups, providing strategic steering, introductions, and operational assist tailor-made to their distinctive wants. We work intently with founders to navigate the challenges of scaling, making certain they’ve the suitable sources and connections to succeed.
Moreover, we leverage a novel benefit: our extensive group of over 750+ angel buyers and 100+ ecosystem stakeholders, together with co-investors from funds of all sizes and personal fairness throughout the African continent and the Diaspora. This intensive community offers our portfolio corporations entry to numerous experience, partnerships, and capital, which helps them develop and scale successfully.
What really units us aside, nevertheless, is our distinctive positioning as leaders who’ve been operators, labored in company, constructed startups, and are buyers ourselves. This mixture of experiences is uncommon on the continent, and it permits us to offer not solely monetary backing but additionally priceless, real-world insights from all sides of the desk. Our deep involvement and numerous backgrounds make sure that we’re not simply passive buyers however long-term companions dedicated to the success of the enterprise.
Do you reserve capital for follow-on investments, and in that case, how do you resolve which portfolio corporations benefit extra backing?
Sure, we reserve capital for follow-on investments. We resolve which corporations benefit extra backing based mostly on their traction, market alternative, scalability, staff progress, and alignment with our experience. Investor updates, transparency, and accountability are important in serving to us assess the benefit for follow-on investments. Common updates enable us to trace progress, spot potential challenges early, and perceive how the startup is evolving. This transparency additionally helps construct belief, making it simpler to rally different buyers for future rounds. Being accountable to buyers strengthens the connection and will increase the chance of securing extra assist when wanted. If an organization is assembly milestones, displaying development, and persevering with to scale successfully, we’re extra possible to offer additional assist.
What does success appear like for this fund?
Success for this fund means persistently backing distinctive founders who’re fixing important issues with scalable options. It seems to be like seeing our portfolio corporations develop, obtain product-market match, and attain key milestones, finally resulting in worthwhile exits. Success additionally includes constructing long-term relationships with founders and co-investors, sustaining a robust status within the ecosystem, and contributing to the broader startup group. In the end, success is about producing significant returns for our buyers whereas making a optimistic influence within the sectors wherein we make investments.
From angel collective to now, what’s been the most important lesson about investing in early-stage startups?
Initially, we centered closely on the concept and the staff, however over time, we’ve come to grasp that the market alternative, a development mindset, and the power to adapt to market realities are simply as important—if no more so—than the preliminary idea. Early-stage startups face fixed challenges, and success isn’t all the time linear. What really issues is the staff’s means to execute, iterate, and pivot when wanted to capitalise on evolving alternatives. Constructing robust relationships with founders, offering clear steering, and staying actively concerned of their journey have been key in serving to our portfolio corporations scale.
How do you mitigate danger throughout a comparatively small fund?
To make sure the success of the fund, we recognise a number of key dangers, together with sustaining a robust pipeline of high-quality investments, managing portfolio efficiency, and securing follow-on capital for development. As a small fund, managing restricted sources successfully is a important problem. We give attention to staying lean and environment friendly by leveraging our community and forging strategic partnerships to maximise our attain whereas minimising operational prices. To mitigate these dangers, we keep intently engaged with our portfolio corporations, providing hands-on assist to assist them scale and navigate challenges.
Being a small fund additionally permits us to be nimble and versatile, adapting rapidly to market modifications and rising alternatives. We take a hands-on method with our founders, offering tailor-made assist that bigger funds won’t have the ability to provide. By specializing in long-term relationships with our portfolio corporations, we create a extra personalised expertise, making certain we add worth past simply capital. Lastly, we prioritise steady studying and iteration, utilizing every funding as a possibility to enhance our processes and additional improve the worth we carry to the desk.
Should you had been beginning yet again as an angel collective, what would you do otherwise based mostly in your expertise now?
What we’re doing is working, and we wouldn’t take a special path. We constructed HoaQ from first ideas, and that’s the method any founders ought to take. We run HoaQ Membership as a startup. It’s all the time been concerning the founders and our angels. Our angels put money into founders they imagine in, and we hearken to them by bringing corporations they’d put money into. With out them, there is no such thing as a HoaQ Membership. They’re our prospects. We constructed HoaQ Membership for them. In the event that they win, we win.
