Ventures Platform Raises $84 Million Second Africa Venture Fund

Ventures Platform, a Pan-African venture capital firm, has raised an $84 million second fund as it expands its investment strategy beyond Nigeria and increases its focus on early-stage technology companies across Africa.

The oversubscribed Fund II will support startups working across sectors including fintech, healthcare, software-as-a-service and other areas where technology can address essential needs and create scalable businesses.

Ventures Platform founding partner Kola Aina said the firm is particularly interested in companies where artificial intelligence can change the economics of serving African markets by reducing costs, improving access and enabling new business models.

Fund Expands Beyond Nigeria

Ventures Platform previously raised a $46 million Fund I in 2022, which focused mainly on pre-seed and seed-stage companies. The firm said the first fund helped prove its approach to early-stage investing in Africa at an institutional scale.

With its second fund, Ventures Platform is expanding its geographic focus beyond Nigeria. The firm has already invested in five companies based in Kenya, South Africa and Egypt through Fund II.

The venture firm plans to invest up to $3 million per company and expects to deploy the new capital over the next three to four years. Its focus includes startups that use technology to improve access to essential services, address infrastructure gaps, and create new markets.

AI Becomes Part of Investment Strategy

Artificial intelligence is a major part of Ventures Platform’s investment strategy. The firm said it is looking for companies where AI is not just a product feature but a technology that can fundamentally change how businesses operate.

Aina said AI is most valuable when it helps companies create different cost structures, business models or ways of delivering services across African markets.

The firm is also looking at startups that use technology to overcome operational challenges, including reducing service delivery costs and addressing labour shortages.

A More Selective Venture Market

The fundraising process for Fund II took about 18 months, as investors became more selective than during the earlier period of rapid venture funding growth.

Aina said limited partners are now asking more detailed questions about investment performance, portfolio construction, liquidity, manager discipline and differentiation.

The shift has increased focus on capital efficiency, strong business fundamentals, governance and companies that can survive different funding cycles.

According to Aina, the conversation among investors has shifted from asking why Africa represents an opportunity to asking why a specific fund can generate returns in the market.

Existing Investors Return to Fund II

Ventures Platform said 70% of its fund I limited partners returned for the second fund. Backers include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Norway’s development finance institution Norfund and Ghana’s Ashesi University Foundation.

Aina said the firm’s advantage lies in combining local market knowledge with global connections to help founders expand beyond their home markets.

As Africa’s startup ecosystem matures, Ventures Platform is betting that disciplined investment and technology-driven businesses will define the next stage of growth across the continent.