Cathay Innovation, a worldwide venture capital firm, and AfricInvest, a prominent multi-asset investment platform in Africa, have achieved the final close of their combined Pan-African Venture fund, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund [CAIF], at €110 million ($112.8 million). The fund is supported by LPs including EIB, AfricaGrow, FMO, Bpifrance, Triodos Investment Management, Proparco, SIFEM, BIO, among others, as well as a diverse group of globally renowned investors, including Development finance institutions, leading multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• With the closing of the fund, the CAIF team will intensify their emphasis on investing in the most promising early-stage to growth-stage firms whose transformative tech-enabled products and services are improving the lives of Africans. 

• The fund invests in startups across numerous sectors, including fintech, mobility, healthtech, edtech, AI, digital content, and agritech, with initial checks ranging from €1 to €10 million for growth-stage and up to €1 million for chosen Seed-stage investments. 

• Since its debut in October 2019, CAIF has supported ten of the continent’s most important startups, including 54gene, OZÉ, Migo, PalmPay, Heetch, KaiOS, Boomplay, Aerobotics, and WhereIsMyTransport. Most recently, the firm co-led the $8 million Series A investment for the Tunisian edtech startup GoMyCode.

“AfricInvest’s partnership with Cathay Innovation brings to Africa global expertise in the innovation space combined with a robust network in Europe, the US and Asia, all helping to build bridges between Africa and the rest of the world, allowing the fund’s investees to grow into regional and global champions,” said Yassine Oussaifi, Partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF.

“As technology scales and brings massive upgrades to global populations, startups are critical in building the new digital infrastructure needed for emerging regions like Africa to redefine industries and society in the 21st century. We’re proud to partner with the AfricInvest team — connecting the entire African continent with tech hubs around the world — in a shared mission of accelerating the transition to a more digital, sustainable and inclusive economy for Africa and beyond,” added Mingpo Cai, founder and chairman of Cathay Capital and Cathay Innovation.

A Look At What The AfricInvest And Cathay Innovation

AfricInvest’s multi-strategy platform has actively contributed to the improvement of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem in Africa since its inception in 1994. CAIF relies on AfricInvest’s extensive investment knowledge, vast network of resources, and physical presence in 11 regions through offices in Abidjan, Algiers, Cairo, Casablanca, Lagos, Nairobi, and Tunis to provide local hands-on support, create portfolio synergies, and aid in geographic expansion. With over 200 portfolio businesses spanning 25 African nations in a range of high-growth sectors, of which 106 have exited, AfricInvest has generated over $2bn AUM across 21 funds and enjoys strong, long-term backing from both African and foreign investors.

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Cathay Innovation, founded in 2015, is a major venture capital business that provides entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa with help from a worldwide ecosystem. The global platform unifies technology investment across continents, investors, entrepreneurs, and major businesses in order to speed startup growth by providing access to new markets, critical industry expertise, and introductions to potential partners from the beginning. Cathay Innovation, with over €2 billion in assets under management and offices on three continents, has a proven track record of over 120 global investments, including 19 unicorns, in businesses speeding the sustainable and digital transformation of industry and society.

CAIF allows promising enterprises to develop and deploy breakthrough technologies that drive equitable socioeconomic development in Africa. Fund portfolio firms have expanded their worldwide footprint to over 21 locations throughout the continent, demonstrating the fund’s exceptional traction and scalability. In recent years, the Fund’s portfolio companies have amassed a considerable impact at scale, reaching about 136 million Africans with inclusive and digital solutions, indicating that $1 spent on the continent reaches more than one user. The Fund’s current portfolio has generated and maintained over 1,400 direct jobs, with women comprising an average of 35% of the workforce. The fund will continue to support African entrepreneurs in scaling their innovative innovations across the continent and beyond, as well as supporting the expansion of global entrepreneurs into Africa.

“The Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund was born from the idea that innovative and tech-enabled startups in Africa are solving important problems and socio-economic gaps. We see this funding opportunity as a means to deliver strategic support to the outstanding startups looking to innovate and improve lives in Africa. Already, CAIF has reached over a hundred million people through job creation and inclusion. However, there are still millions across the continent with limited economic resources on our radar,” said Khaled Ben Jilani, Senior Partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF.

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The market for venture capital in Africa has grown exponentially over the past decade, paralleling the acceleration of digital revolution across all industries. As a result, the industry is becoming the innovation ecosystem with the fastest growth rate worldwide. The ecosystem reached a new milestone of over $5 billion in venture financing in 2021, which is greater than the previous two years combined and nearly three times more than in 2020. As one of the largest early- to growth-stage Pan-African innovation funds, CAIF is now in a strong position to increase its focus on creative and scalable post-revenue companies based in Africa or with an emphasis on Africa. Consequently, CAIF will remain at the forefront of the continent’s fast evolving VC landscape.

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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