Toyota Tsusho has announced an investment in Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (“VKAV”), managed by Verod-Kepple Africa Partners (“VKAP”). This investment intends to promote entrepreneurs while also exploring business synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group in Africa.
VKAV is the first fund launched by VKAP, a joint venture between Verod Capital Management Limited, a private equity fund with a track record of investing in and supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in Africa, and Kepple Africa Ventures, an African venture capital firm. VKAV intends to invest $100 million USD in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue businesses that will bring about transformative change by addressing complex challenges across diverse industries on the continent during the next five years, from 2022 to 2026.
In October 2019, Toyota Tsusho and its affiliate CFAO SAS launched Mobility 54 Investment SAS (“Mobility 54”), a corporate venture capital firm committed to investing in and funding mobility-related startups in Africa. Mobility 54 has invested roughly 28 million USD (as of the end of July 2022) in 14 businesses since its inception, and it is increasing its investment efforts to accelerate the MaaS business in Africa and to address social concerns confronting the mobility sector.
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Toyota Tsusho also made an investment in Samurai Africa Fund 2 Investment Partnership, a fund administered by Samurai Incubate Inc. that promotes scouting for entrepreneurs, including those in industries other than mobility, in April 2021.
This new investment will be used to source startups in healthcare, consumer products, carbon neutrality, and other disciplines, as well as to pursue commercial synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group and Mobility 54.
Toyota Tsusho will contribute to the resolution of social challenges in Africa through its “WITH AFRICA FOR AFRICA” attitude, which aspires to grow with the people and communities of Africa while expanding its company.
Overview of Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures
Management company
Verod-Kepple Africa Partners (A joint venture between Verod Capital Management Limited and Kepple Africa Ventures).
Target fields
Transportation & mobility, medical & healthcare, retail & consumer goods, carbon neutral energy, logistics, fintech, education, etc.
Target areas
Across Africa
Total fund amount (planned)
100 million USD
Investment period
2022 to 2026（5 years )
Toyota Tsusho Verod Kepple Toyota Tsusho Verod Kepple
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