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Ventures Platform, one of Africa’s leading early-stage venture capital firms, has raised $64 million in the first close of its second fund, with plans to power a new wave of tech startups across the continent.
The Lagos-based investor is targeting $75 million for the final close of its Pan-African Fund II, which will support emerging companies tackling “non-consumption” — the unmet needs in markets often ignored by traditional investors.
The fresh capital comes from a mix of returning and new backers, including the International Finance Corporation, Standard Bank of South Africa, British International Investment, Proparco, AfricaGrow, and Nigeria’s government-backed iDICE program. European family offices such as Alder Tree Investment and global tech investors, including Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel, also participated.
The fund will extend Ventures Platform’s reach beyond Nigeria into North Africa and Francophone markets, while continuing to focus on Nigeria as its home base. It will also move beyond pre-seed and seed stages to lead and catalyse Series A rounds, helping bridge the funding gap for Africa’s fastest-growing tech startups.
Founding partner Kola Aina said the firm’s strategy was to identify resilient founders solving structural challenges in fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech, and artificial intelligence.
“The continent’s innovation opportunity is boundless,” Aina said. “Africa’s challenges are its greatest opportunities, and we’re backing founders who are building solutions that plug infrastructural gaps and drive real economic evolution.”
Since its launch in 2016, Ventures Platform has invested in more than 90 startups, including Moniepoint, LemFi, Thrive Agric, OmniRetail, and PiggyVest—several of which have gone on to raise later-stage rounds or achieve unicorn status. Its first institutional fund, closed in 2022, delivered strong returns across six vintages, reinforcing its reputation as one of the most disciplined funds on the continent.
Investors backing the new fund described it as a pivotal platform for scaling Africa’s innovation ecosystem. IFC’s global director for disruptive technologies, Farid Fezoua, said the investment would help early-stage startups move from concept to growth, creating “quality jobs and strengthening local value chains.”
Standard Bank’s Nimalan Reddy called the deal a continuation of a trusted partnership: “It’s a testament to Ventures Platform’s ability to find and scale high-impact entrepreneurs.”
Nigeria’s Bank of Industry, which manages the government’s iDICE program, said its participation underscored the administration’s commitment to growing the digital economy. “By investing in Ventures Platform’s Fund II, we’re catalysing job creation and supporting high-growth entrepreneurs across Nigeria,” said Dr. Olasupo Olusi, the bank’s CEO.
Ventures Platform’s portfolio already includes three of Africa’s fastest-growing companies on the Financial Times 2024 ranking, and its founders are among the few locally based fund managers to consistently attract global institutional capital.
With this second fund, Aina said the firm intends to “democratise prosperity” by creating a new generation of African tech leaders capable of scaling across borders — and competing globally.
