Beyond Capital Ventures (BCV) has announced the final closure of its emerging markets venture capital fund, thereby ending 2022. Beyond Capital Ventures was founded on April 30, 2021, with the goal of investing in early-stage startups in India and East Africa in “must-have” industries like as healthcare, climate adaption, and fintech led by conscious leaders.
Raising an investment fund during the Covid-19 outbreak and recent market volatility was no easy task. After making 500 fundraising calls, Eva Yazhari, General Partner, and her team received support from over 70 Limited Partners, reflecting a 14% average strike rate.
Fund of funds, Registered Investment Advisors, family offices, and foundations are among the fund’s Limited Partners. The team recently established a strategic alliance with Shah Capital, a Bay Area-based family office that invested $1 million in the fund.
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Beyond Capital Ventures also drew high-net-worth individuals such as CEOs, exited entrepreneurs, venture fund partners, and managing partners of law firms and investment banks, among others. Notably, 72% of the fund’s investors are women and/or people of color, with the Indian diaspora accounting for 25%.
“Financially prudent and direct impact exposure to Africa and India has been challenging to find. Beyond Capital Ventures is an impressive manager with their decade of experience in these regions and thorough due diligence process with portfolio companies,” said Monica Miller, Portfolio Manager at the High Impact Fund I, LP, a fund of funds who anchored Beyond Capital Ventures’ first close.
Beyond Capital Ventures is run by General Partner Eva Yazhari, who previously developed and led Beyond Capital Firm, an evergreen impact venture capital fund that has been operating in India and East Africa since 2011. She drew a strong Leadership Team, including Venture Partner Nicholas Java, who has guided the firm’s due diligence process for over a decade; Venture Partner Patricia Chin-Sweeney, Founder of I-DEV International, a business strategy and investment firm specialising in emerging markets; Director of Social Impact Matt Raimondi, who is also a Senior Director at Sustainalytics; and Director of Operations and Investor Relations Mathilde Beniflah.
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The fund is in exclusive company with its gender-balanced leadership: Only 10% of General Partners directing venture capital firms in the United States are female, and women make up fewer than 7% of investment decision-makers.
“By closing Beyond Capital Ventures, our team truly beat the odds. We know that only 2–3% of capital flows to women fund managers in private equity,” said Eva Yazhari, General Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures. “We will deploy our capital into 18–20 companies that are future industry leaders in India and East Africa. Our Limited Partners have catalyzed Beyond Capital Ventures with their investments — and this new fund is only the beginning.”
Beyond Capital Ventures intends to expand as its target markets mature. By 2050, 42% of the world’s population will be African or Indian, with Africa home to 70% of the world’s youth. In addition, India is expected to be the world’s second largest economy. Beyond Capital currently has seven early-stage companies in its portfolio that are addressing the needs of this growing population.
These companies include CarePoint, a cutting-edge healthcare asset acquirer and operator, and Frontier Markets, a last-mile distribution platform that supplies basic goods to rural households. XENO, a goal-based investment platform that helps millions of people in Africa develop personal investment strategies; Kasha, a centralised digital platform for women’s health and personal care products in Africa; Lal10, an online wholesale marketplace for Indian artisans and small business owners; Viebeg Medical, a data-driven healthcare logistics platform; and FreshR, a B2B agritech platform to coordinate the fish and meat industry in India.
As an actual founder-friendly investor, Beyond Capital Ventures built a solid brand. The fund is developing an Equitable Venture pool where founders get a cut of the profits and can get carried interest bonuses if they reach gender-specific goals.
“As one of our first investors, Beyond Capital Ventures saw potential in us before others did. By taking the lead they helped us successfully close our funding round. Ever since, the support and expertise we have received from their team has been outstanding and a major driving force behind our rapid growth,” says Tobias Reiter, CEO of Viebeg Medical. “With Beyond Capital Ventures, we not only receive valuable guidance from an experienced team and advisor network, but also any support you need to build and scale an impact-driven, people-centered organization.”
A Look At What Beyond Capital Ventures Does
Beyond Capital Ventures is an emerging markets impact venture capital firm that is building a portfolio that is diverse, dynamic, and de-risked. The company invests in the next wave of innovations that address the growing needs of India’s and East Africa’s 1 billion+ consumers. Beyond Capital Ventures invests in conscious leaders who are building businesses to meet rising demand in “must-have” industries, primarily healthcare, agriculture, and financial inclusion. The fund also has an Equitable Venture structure, which gives portfolio founders a profit share in the GP carry.
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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. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh