May 5, 2023

May 5, 2023 Launch Africa , a Pan-African venture capital firm, is planning to launch a $75 million fund aimed at investing in tech startups across Africa. According to the fund’s manager, Janade du Plessis, Launch Africa is finalizing the fund, which is expected to be operational by July and will target 80 to 100 companies across the continent. The firm recently closed a $36.3 million fund that invested in 133 companies across 22 African countries. Du Plessis noted that Launch Africa’s investment strategy is based on a frontier approach, meaning that the firm is seeking opportunities in other African countries beyond the so-called Big Five, which are Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana. The firm looks for early-stage start-ups, government involvement, corporate connections with banks, insurances, and telcos, and later-stage investors like private equity or institutional investors to determine whether to invest in a particular country. Under the upcoming fund, Launch Africa plans to invest up to $1 million in reliable businesses, with some revenue that they can apply their growth models to. Du Plessis explained that the firm specializes in getting companies that are producing $10,000 or $25,000 a month from their clients to $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue in the shortest period. The firm provides funding, specific programmes for founders, and introduces them to their corporate networks. Launch Africa sees itself as a frontier fund that is actively seeking investment opportunities in other African countries beyond the Big Five. Launch Africa tech startups Charles Rapulu Udoh Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc. ), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard Share this: