Capria Ventures, a US-based venture capital firm, has recently revealed the first close of its Global South Fund II, which is set to raise US$100 million. Among the investors in the fund is Gates Ventures, the investment vehicle of tech mogul Bill Gates. Other institutional investors include Crystal Springs Foundation, OIP Investment Trust, Sall Family Foundation, Brakeman Family Trust, as well as two founders of Pioneer Square Labs.
Capria’s objective with the new fund is to invest in 20 to 25 startups in the early-growth stage, with a particular focus on businesses located across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa, according to an official statement. The VC firm aims to identify founders and firms that leverage generative AI across sectors such as agritech, fintech, edtech, healthtech, HR tech, logistics, and climate tech.
The new fund has already made four investments in Latin America and Africa, with Capria previously investing in startups like SeamlessHR in Nigeria and WhereIsMyTransport in South Africa. Across its funds, Capria manages assets worth over US$200 million.
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Capria’s Global South Fund I, which was launched in 2019 with US$57 million in funds, has already made 14 direct investments. By aligning its investment strategy with current trends, such as the growing use of generative AI, the venture capital firm hopes to continue supporting early-growth startups in emerging markets.
Capria Ventures
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