Last week, former investor in Kenya’s Twiga Foods, Nuwa Capital, announced the close of its $100m fund almost one year after it was launched. Although the $100m fundraising target was not achieved, the VC raised three-quarters ($75m) of it, and it is looking to choose direct-to-consumer (D2C), fintech, mobility, logistics, and enterprise startups based in North and East Africa over others. Founded by Dubai-based Wamda Capital’s former Managing Partner Khaled Talhouni who is leaving the firm after spending six years, the Nuwa Capital fund is targeted at startups in Middle East, North Africa, East Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan.
“We launched the fund in a year forever marked with the upending of how our economies and societies have traditionally functioned. At the heart of this shift was the unprecedented adoption of technology, particularly in emerging markets. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to reshape our economies around innovation and entrepreneurship and prime our societies for decades of positive growth,” said Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner at Nuwa Capital said.
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The VC has already invested in several regional companies from the new fund, including in Egypt’s Homzmart. It is also getting ready to announce further investments in the coming weeks.
Joining Nuwa Capital is another investor which has most recently invested in Nigeria’s 54gene, Adjuvant Capital. The VC has announced the close of its oversubscribed $300 million fund, with investments from top investors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Anthos Fund & Asset Management, CDC Group, ELMA Investments Ltd., the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Novartis, among other investors.
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“Billions of people around the world live under constant assault from diseases like malaria, shigella, hookworm, tuberculosis, and Lassa fever, yet Wall Street and Silicon Valley typically pay little attention to these widespread challenges,” said Glenn Rockman, managing partner at Adjuvant Capital. “As viruses like Ebola, Zika, and SARS-CoV-2 have clearly demonstrated, wealthy countries are vulnerable to these pathogens as well. Our new fund will finance cutting-edge research so we are better prepared for threats old and new alike, with the ultimate goal of saving or improving millions of lives by bringing urgently-needed drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical devices to market.”
Launched in 2019, Adjuvant’s debut fund will support promising new technologies for indications that the venture capital industry has largely ignored.
Would They Be Open For African Startups?
Both VCs have previously invested in African startups, and so may most likely show interests once again. While Nuwa Capital’s focus will be on north and east Africa where it has previously invested, Adjuvant Capital may be looking at West Africa once again. 54gene’s $15m Series A round last year was led by Adjuvant Capital. While Nuwa Capital’s sector of focus may also be diverse, Adjuvant’s investment mandate revolves only around healthcare.
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