Ventures Platform, one of Africa’s most active venture capital firms, has achieved a significant milestone, generating returns on four out of six investment cohorts from its $46 million fund. The firm, which has backed over 90 startups across the continent, disclosed these results in its 2023 impact report. The Abuja-based firm initially announced the first close of its Ventures Platform Fund I in 2021, securing $40 million from a diverse pool of investors, including Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and global investors such as Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel. By 2022, the fund was fully closed at $46 million. According to Ventures Platform, $19.6 million of the fund has been deployed across various startups, with the majority invested in pre-seed (51.49%) and seed stage (40.84%) companies. The firm’s portfolio includes prominent names such as Piggyvest, Remedial Health, and OmniRetail. Fintech was the top-funded sector, receiving $6.8 million, while investments in SaaS ($2.8 million), B2B ($2 million), and Healthtech ($2.4 million) followed closely. Ventures Platform also diversified its investments, allocating $7.9 million across sectors like logistics, autotech, insurtech, and cleantech. Despite a challenging funding environment for African startups, Ventures Platform’s investment strategy remains unchanged. In an interview with TechCabal, founding partner Kola Aina emphasized the firm's focus on fundamentals, noting, “This is the best time to invest; there is less noise. We are now focused fundamentally on solid unit economics.” The firm, which traditionally concentrated on Nigerian startups, has begun to extend its reach across Africa. While 80% of the Fund I investments were directed toward startups headquartered in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, Ventures Platform has recently expanded its footprint, investing in 12 non-Nigerian startups, including Ghana’s Notto, Zambia’s Union54, and Egypt’s Karcel. “We always set out to be a pan-African investor,” said managing partner Dotun Olowoporoku in the same TechCabal interview, highlighting the firm’s strategy to diversify its portfolio across the continent. As Ventures Platform continues to navigate Africa's evolving venture capital landscape, its ability to return capital on the majority of its investment cohorts signals a robust approach to nurturing high-impact startups across the continent.
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