Diving freely into Africa’s risk market is both fearsome and worth tipping hat for. This is what Outlierz Ventures, an African venture capital fund based in Morocco, has been doing for the past two years of its existence — participating in funding African startups, most times in deals above $1m. Since the start of its activity in January 2019, the fund has made eight investments in four priority African markets: Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya, as well as in European startups led by African entrepreneurs from the diaspora.
“We are delighted to announce our new equity investments in three African technology companies, and are very proud of the exceptional results of our portfolio. The African market represents a huge opportunity to build innovative technological platforms that transform traditional business models in all key sectors of the economy. The health crisis we are currently experiencing is catalysing this digital transformation. This is evidenced by the recent acquisition of Paystack, a Nigerian fintech in payments, by the US leader, Stripe, valued at $ 34B, for more than $ 200 million last October. I am convinced that this is a major event in the African ecosystem which will lead to others,” says Kenza Lahlou, co-founder and Managing Partner of Outlierz Ventures.
Here Is What You Need To Know
Among the technology companies Outlierz has invested in, four of them (50%) are in the retail and logistics sector: WaystoCap (Morocco), Sokowatch (Kenya), MaxAB (Egypt), and TousFacteurs (France), three in that of FinTech, Bamboo (Nigeria), Youverify (Nigeria) and Asoko Insights (Sub-Saharan Africa) and one in the health sector, Healthlane (Nigeria).
The health crisis has created new opportunities for the fund, particularly in FinTech and HealTech. Thus, since the start of 2020, Outlierz Ventures has made three new investments:
- YouVerify (Nigeria), a startup that automates and digitalizes the KYC-check (Know-YourCustomer) process, in particular to allow the opening of remote bank accounts.
- Bamboo (Nigeria), a startup that democratizes investment and allows Nigerians to invest instantly in the US stock market from a mobile application connected to their Nigerian bank account.
- Healthlane (Cameroon and Nigeria), a start-up which offers a premium healthcare service in public hospitals and offers remote services such as online appointment booking, telemedicine, or access to the results of laboratories on the mobile application.
Most of the fund’s portfolio companies have been positively impacted by the health crisis as they meet basic needs, and have seen their growth accelerate. In terms of valuation, some of them have already exceeded hundred million dollars in a few years and provide the portfolio with remarkable profitability vis-à-vis the international standards of the venture capital industry, the VC notes in a statement.
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A Look At The Venture Capital Firm
A venture capital fund dedicated to technology companies, Outlierz Ventures was launched by a team of Moroccan and African entrepreneurs and investment professionals, united around values and a common passion for entrepreneurship, innovation and Africa, with the ambition of take part in the emergence of the continent’s next success stories.
Its Managing Partner, Kenza Lahlou, was also selected this year to join the very closed circle of “Kauffman Fellows”, dedicated to managers of venture capital funds around the world. Outlierz Ventures is therefore one of the rare African funds to be part of this global network.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer