Grace Ashiru
Nigeria-based venture capital firm Ventures Platform has raised $84 million for its second fund, giving the investor more capital — and a wider geographic mandate — to back technology startups across Africa.
The oversubscribed fund represents a significant step up from Ventures Platform’s first institutional fund, which closed at $46 million in 2022. While the earlier vehicle concentrated heavily on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, particularly in Nigeria, Fund II will pursue opportunities across a broader range of African markets.
Ventures Platform plans to invest in early-stage businesses operating in sectors including fintech, healthcare, software and other technology-enabled services addressing major economic and infrastructure needs.
Artificial intelligence will also feature in the firm’s investment strategy, particularly where AI can materially lower the cost of delivering products and services or enable new business models suited to African markets.
The firm has already begun deploying capital from the new fund, backing five companies in Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. Individual investments can reach as much as $3 million, with Ventures Platform expecting to deploy the fund over approximately three to four years.
The expansion comes during a more demanding fundraising environment for African venture capital.
Institutional investors have become increasingly selective following the global venture downturn, placing greater emphasis on fund performance, capital efficiency, governance, liquidity and a manager’s ability to generate actual returns rather than relying on continuous follow-on funding.
That shift is also changing the way Africa-focused venture firms position themselves. Simply offering investors exposure to the continent is no longer enough. Fund managers are increasingly expected to demonstrate differentiated access to strong founders, deep knowledge of individual markets and a credible strategy for helping portfolio companies scale.
Ventures Platform is betting that its combination of local operating knowledge and international investor relationships can provide that advantage.
Investor support for the strategy appears strong. About 70% of investors from Fund I returned for Fund II, according to TechCrunch. The new fund’s backers include institutional investors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norfund and the Ashesi University Foundation.
The EBRD has separately confirmed an investment of up to $8 million in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II. The development bank said the vehicle will invest in early-stage technology companies across Africa and highlighted markets including Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
Norfund has also announced a $6 million commitment, describing early-stage risk capital as an important tool for supporting entrepreneurship, job creation and broader access to services.
The larger fund arrives as Africa’s startup funding market continues to recalibrate after several years of dramatic swings in venture investment. For Ventures Platform, that environment appears to be reinforcing a strategy centered on disciplined investing and backing companies capable of building sustainable businesses regardless of wider fundraising cycles.
With Fund II, the firm is effectively moving from a Nigeria-centered early-stage investor toward a more explicitly pan-African venture platform, while maintaining its focus on startups using technology to solve large, everyday problems.
