Ventures Platform raises $83M for pan-African fund as LPs demand proof
What's the deal? Ventures PlatformDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised an oversubscribed $83 million second fund, expanding the pan-African venture firm's reach beyond its home market of Nigeria. The Lagos-based firm will back early-stage founders in fintech, healthcare, SaaS, and other sectors, writing checks of up to $3 million.
What's the endgame? Ventures Platform wants to fund companies "where technology can address essential needs and build large, enduring businesses," founding partner Kola Aina told TechCrunch. It has already backed five companies from Fund II across Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, and plans to deploy the capital over the next three to four years.
AI features in the thesis. "We're particularly interested in where AI changes the economics of serving African markets," Aina said, pointing to its potential to cut service costs and offset labor shortages.
The fund more than doubles the firm's $46 million Fund I, raised in 2022 with a narrower focus on pre-seed and seed rounds in Nigeria. That fund "allowed us to demonstrate that our approach to early-stage investing in Africa could work at an institutional scale," Aina said.
Why now? Raising took about 18 months in what Aina called a more "selective" environment. "LPs are asking harder questions about performance, portfolio construction, liquidity, manager discipline, and differentiation," he said.
What could go wrong? Funding across the continent is contracting. African startups have raised roughly $930 million across more than 200 deals this year, down from $1.16 billion across 447 deals in 2024.
The signal: The African venture market has become a barbell, with LPs backing a handful of top firms and emerging managers with proven records. "Three years ago, there was still a significant amount of curiosity around the African opportunity. Today, LPs expect proof," Aina said. "The conversation has moved from 'Why Africa' to 'Why you and how exactly are you going to generate returns.'"
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