Afrigather Ventures Platform, an early-stage, Africa-focused VC agency, has closed its early-stage and intercontinental fund at $46 million. The fund surpassed its preliminary goal of $40 million and noticed participation from a number of notable traders, together with Standard Bank, the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, A to Z Impact, Proparco with FISEA, AfricaGrow (a fund of funds backed by the German Ministry for Financial Cooperation and Improvement and managed by Allianz International Traders), and HNIs.
Launched in 2016 by Kola Aina, the agency has invested in 81 technology companies throughout Africa and plans to make use of this fund to double down on backing “category-leading” firms throughout the continent and spend money on portfolio firms as much as Collection A. To this point, Ventures Platform’s portfolio firms have gone on to lift greater than $1 billion in follow-on funding.
In December 2021, the fund launched a $40 million fund to deepen its presence in West Africa and spend money on firms from different African areas, and introduced on Seni Suleyman as a enterprise associate. This yr, Dotun Olowoporoku, the earlier chief business officer at TeamApt, was made the managing associate, and Desigan Chinniah was introduced on as a enterprise associate.
In latest instances, there was a wave of layoffs—attributable to an absence of runway for startups—and company governance points throughout the African tech ecosystem. Acknowledging the present state throughout the ecosystem in a press release, Aina, the founding father of Ventures Platform, stated, “We acknowledge the harder macroeconomic local weather at current and while we stay cautious when it comes to market dynamics and stay grounded in our long-standing perception in correct due diligence and company governance, we’re additionally acutely conscious that with our funding thesis, which is centred on market-creating improvements that thrive when value-chains and markets are restructured, there proceed to be unimaginable alternatives throughout the market.”
Pushed by the latest increase in funding throughout the continent, there was elevated exercise from African-focused VC companies and the institution of latest companies. Enterprise capital companies like Madica, Satgana, and Purple Elephant have not too long ago raised funds to help particular sectors and verticals throughout the continents, whereas a number of different established Africa-focused companies like Oui Capital have launched new funds.
