TLDR:
- Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) closed a pan-African venture fund at $60 million for scalable, tech-enabled startups in Africa.
- The fund targets early-stage companies solving social challenges in the region, focusing on growth stage companies with a gap in funding availability.
Full Article:
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) has closed a pan-African venture fund at $60 million, investing in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue startups that address challenges on the continent. Formed in 2021 as a joint venture between Kepple Africa Ventures and Verod Holdings, VKAV is led by partners Satoshi Shinada, Ryosuke Yamawaki, and Ory Okolloh. The fund targets early-stage companies working to solve social challenges in Africa.
The VKAV Fund announced a first close of $43 million in March 2023, with key institutional investors including SBI Holdings, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Japan International Corporation Agency. The final close at $60 million also saw new investors like SCM Capital from Nigeria and institutional investors from Japan such as Taiyo Holdings and C2C Global Education Japan.
VKAV focuses on growth stage companies, addressing the funding gap for companies transitioning to Series A and B stages in Africa. The fund targets companies in three key themes: digital infrastructure builders, inefficiency solvers, and market creators. VKAV has already backed 12 companies including Moove Africa, KOKO Networks, and Julaya.
