Launch Africa Ventures - Afrikan Heroes

Launch Africa Ventures Raises $36.3m For African Startups

June 15, 2022

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Launch Africa Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, has made its 100th investment, making it the most active investor in African tech startups, and has completed its first fund at $36.3 million.

“We assist the African founders of early-stage tech and tech-enabled companies to focus on what the continent needs right now — the rapid growth of businesses solving real-world problems combined with the creation of high-value jobs in sustainable ventures. We are proud to have helped many founders close their seed funding rounds in 4–6 weeks, notably faster than the 4–6 months it typically takes for early-stage founders to close rounds in Africa,” said partner Zachariah George.

Following the successful closing, Fund 1 announced its 100th investment at the end of May, with US$24 million invested in 108 early-stage technology and technology-enabled enterprises across 20 African countries.

A Look At What The VC

Launch Africa Ventures, founded in July 2020 by Zachariah George and Janade du Plessis, with chairperson Margaret O’Connor also on the board, closed its first fund, Launch Africa Ventures Fund 1, in March for $36.3 million, with investments from 238 retail and institutional investors from 40 countries.

Launch Africa also encourages co-investment from its Limited Partners (LPs) by sharing due diligence, waiving fees, and absorbing charges for LPs in the fund’s seed and pre-Series A investments. Launch Africa LPs have invested more than $14 million in Launch Africa portfolio firms to far.

“The Launch Africa team works with founders and expert advisors to fast-track exit opportunities for investors,” du Plessis said. “Providing our exit strategy during these challenging times instills investor confidence and brings significant benefits to the African tech ecosystem.”

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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

Prolific Investor Launch Africa Continues Its Run In Africa, With $575k Investment In Nigerian Online School Enabler, Edves

October 3, 2021

Launch Africa Ventures is one of the most prolific investors in African early stage startups so far in 2021. The venture capital firm appears not to be stopping any time soon, including most recently participating in a $575,000 seed funding round in Nigerian online school enabler, Edves.

The investment round, which was oversubscribed, was headed by Beta Venture. Previous investors Chinook Capital and Future Africa are among the other investors.

Zachariah George, managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures

This new fundraising round, according to the announcement, would help Edves to strengthen its products by allowing the launching of new offers to address new customer needs in the Nigerian market and important segments in other African markets.

In 2018, Chinook Capital and CcHub’s Growth Capital announced a seed round investment of $120,000 in the startup. In Nigeria, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, the company automates learning, with over 790 schools using the program.

Why The Investors Invested

Ovo Emorhokpor, a general partner at Beta Ventures, stated that his company’s mission is to assist entrepreneurs and exceptional African enterprises that offer genuine value to Nigeria and other African communities in regards to the funding. He said:

“We have witnessed Edves firsthand and seen how they deliver on their promise to digitize the learning process in and out of the classroom in Africa. We are thrilled to be part of their journey as they scale their offerings and expand into new markets.”

Zachariah George, managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures, feels that the investment was critical in encouraging digital teaching and learning among Africa’s youth, who make up approximately 60% of the population.

“Schools all over the continent need easy-to-use, secure learner management software that encompasses all school needs by addressing specific challenges with capturing data, paperwork, and improving every area of school operations,” he said.

A Look At What The Startup Does

Founded in 2016 by Sunday Falana and Dare Adebayo, Edves is a cloud-based software platform for school management. It offers a comprehensive set of services that enable schools to manage report cards, fees, digital learning, student enrolment, and more.

Parents can also use the portal to check information about their children or wards, as well as pay fees. Because not all parents are computer aware, these facts can be accessed via text, email, an app, or the website itself.

As part of its digital infrastructure efforts, the organization also allows instructors, parents, and administrators to collaborate on students’ progress toward learning goals, as well as track and analyze learning results.

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Egyptian Fintech Startup Kashat Raises $1.75m Bridge Funding Round

September 13, 2021

Kashat, an Egypt-based fintech and microloan solutions provider, has raised $1.75 million in its newest round of funding. The Bridge round was led by Pan-African fund Launch Africa, whose goal is to assist firms that address the continent’s most pressing issues, and included several prominent regional investors, including prior investment Cairo Angels.

*Managing Partner Launch Africa Ventures Zachariah George*

The Egypt-based fintech intends to use the fresh money to sustain and grow its platform, as well as expand its operations.

“With the growth in customer purchasing power, increased financial inclusion and democratised access to a broader array of goods and services, consumers across Egypt are desperate for a timeous, efficient, digital-friendly and affordable lending solution. Kashat is making broad, bold strides towards this goal and we are proud to be backing them on this journey,” said Managing Partner Launch Africa Ventures Zachariah George.

Egypt’s fintech landscape is thriving, with entrepreneurs contributing to the digital economy’s growth through frictionless financial solutions. While fintech startups in Egypt such as PayMob and MoneyFellows focus on the greater Egyptian market, Kashat’s operations cater to a specific population as part of their objective to promote financial inclusion in Egypt.

Kashat is getting into Egypt’s unbanked sector by providing microloans and nano-financial services to a market that accounts for more than 70% of the population.

A Look At What Kashat Does

Kashat was founded in 2019 with the goal of improving financial inclusion in Egypt and the Arabic-speaking world by providing accessible, seamless, and productive financial services. Kashat provides nano financial services in the form of small loans to Egypt’s unbanked and underbanked demographics through its user-friendly mobile platform.

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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