Ventures Platform secures $84 million for second pan-African tech Fund

Ventures Platform, an African seed stage venture capital firm, has announced the final close of its second institutional fund, Ventures Platform Pan African Fund II, at $84 million, exceeding its initial $75 million target.

The fund closed three years after the firm raised its first institutional fund and amid a more cautious global venture capital environment, according to a statement issued by the firm on Wednesday.

The latest close also expands the fund’s institutional investor base, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norfund, Norway’s development finance institution, Alphatron and Ashesi University Foundation joining as new investors.

These investors join existing limited partners from the fund’s first close, including the Nigeria Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank South Africa, British International Investment (BII), Proparco through the European Union backed Choose Africa VC programme, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), AfricaGrow and Alder Tree Investment.

What they are saying

The oversubscribed fund, Ventures Platform said, reflects growing institutional confidence in Africa’s technology and innovation ecosystem and its strategy of identifying and backing founders at the earliest stages of company building.

With the fund now closed, Ventures Platform said it will increase its focus on pre seed to Series A investments while retaining capacity to support high performing portfolio companies through subsequent funding rounds.

The firm said the fund will back founders building businesses that address some of Africa’s major economic and social challenges, with a focus on technology driven solutions across key sectors.

Kola Aina, founding and…