IFC

IFC-Backed Ventures Platform Raises $84M for African Startups

Ventures Platform has closed its second institutional fund at $84 million, exceeding its $75 million target as the Nigerian venture capital firm expands funding for early-stage technology companies across Africa. The final close comes 3 years after its first institutional fund and adds new investors including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Norfund, Alphatron and Ashesi University Foundation.

The new investors join backers including the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, Standard Bank, Proparco, AfricaGrow, Nigeria’s iDICE programme, MSMEDA and Alder Tree Investment. Family offices also participated, giving the fund a mix of development institutions, banks and private investors.

Ventures Platform plans to invest from pre-seed through Series A and provide follow-on capital to some portfolio companies. The fund will invest across Africa, with a focus on markets including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal. Its target sectors include fintech, health technology, agriculture, education, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

The firm has spent more than a decade investing in African startups. Its portfolio includes Moniepoint, OmniRetail, PiggyVest, Raenest, Seamless Technologies and _able. Ventures Platform plans to use the new fund to lead more early-stage rounds while helping companies raise later financing and expand into other markets.

The $84 million close comes as African startups continue to face a tighter funding market than during the venture capital boom of 2021 and 2022. The fund’s ability to exceed its target gives Ventures Platform more capital to invest at a stage where founders often struggle to raise institutional funding.

The size of Ventures Platform’s second fund matters because early-stage capital remains one of the gaps in Africa’s startup market. Many companies can raise small angel rounds, while businesses that have reached scale can attract larger investors, but the period between those stages can be harder to finance. Ventures Platform is targeting that gap by investing from pre-seed through Series A and keeping capital available for later rounds. The investor mix also matters. Development finance institutions including IFC, EBRD, BII, Proparco and Norfund are investing alongside banks, family offices and other private investors, giving the fund capital from institutions with different risk and return requirements. That can help bring more private money into African venture capital over time. The $84 million close also compares with $46 million raised by Ventures Platform for its previous institutional fund, increasing the amount it can deploy across the continent. The next test will be returns. African venture funding has become more selective, making revenue growth, governance and paths to profit more important than they were during the last funding cycle. Ventures Platform now needs to show that investing early in companies serving African markets can produce exits and distributions that bring institutional investors back for future funds.