Tobias Reiter - Afrikan Heroes

Africa-focused Investor Beyond Capital Raises New Funds To Invest In Startups

December 8, 2022

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.

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.

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.

Beyond Capital Africa Beyond Capital Africa

African Blockchain Startup Gridless Raises $2M Seed Funding

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

Rwandan Health-tech Startup, VIEBEG Technologies, Raises $1m Funding Round

November 10, 2021

VIEBEG Technologies, a Rwandan health-tech startup intending to disrupt Africa’s medical supply chain and impact millions of lives across the continent, has received a total of $1 million in funding from the Rwanda Innovation Fund (RIF), managed by Angaza Capital.

“We are thrilled to invest in VIEBEG, a company that is already changing healthcare across the continent,” says Angaza Capital Chair. “With a mission to enable proper care for millions, VIEBEG’s team is utilizing advanced technologies and extensive knowledge to establish a sustainable revolution in a sector that is in a dire need of viable solutions,” Angela Homsi, Angaza Capital Chair said.

With the money, the company will be able to achieve the enormous promise of technology and data science in making medical supplies more inexpensive and accessible to hundreds of millions of people. The company’s data-driven procurement platform ensures that medical institutions always have the necessary type and quantity of medical items in stock to treat patients effectively.

Viebeg ceo Tobias Reiter — VIEBEG CEO Tobias Reiter

“With its solid institutions, creative innovators, and sustainable development focus, Kigali’s entrepreneurial landscape is growing. There is untapped potential to solve problems shared by hundreds of millions, and Rwanda has an unprecedented opportunity to establish its status as an innovation and sustainable entrepreneurship African leader. Angaza Capital is proud to support innovative teams and companies such as VIEBEG and continues to invest great efforts in supporting the evolving ecosystem, and pave the way to a more inclusive, and sustainable future for all,” Homsi said.

A Look At What VIEBEG Technologies Does

VIEBEG is a health tech firm that provides high-quality medical supplies and equipment through an innovative procurement platform. It was founded in 2018 by Tobias Reiter (Chief Executive Officer) and Alex Musyoka (Chief Commercial Officer). In hard-to-serve markets, the company uses artificial intelligence to de-risk and optimize every component of the supply chain, allowing healthcare providers to acquire autonomously, transparently, and efficiently using the platform.

The company saves up to 40% on average by working with over 40 multinational manufacturers and suppliers and being directly connected to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies through the procurement platform. VIEBEG’s innovative business strategy, which includes on-demand supply and flexible financing of medical items and equipment, has already helped over 400 healthcare facilities in Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC, and Kenya.

VIEBEG delivers an average cost savings of up to 40% by working with over 40 multinational manufacturers and suppliers and being directly connected to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies via the procurement platform. With an innovative business model that incorporates on-demand supply and flexible financing of medical items and equipment, VIEBEG has already provided more than 400 healthcare facilities in Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC, and Kenya.

The company, which is based in Kigali, employs 24 employees, including 18 Rwandans. RIF’s support of great entrepreneurs and innovators who use technology to disrupt access to crucial solutions and assist sustainable economic development in Rwanda and beyond is shown by this investment.

Rwandan VIEBEG Technologies health Rwandan VIEBEG Technologies health

Angaza Capital Launches New Fund, To Invest Up To $5m In African Startups

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 write

Rwandan Health-tech Startup, Viebeg Technologies, Secures Pre-seed Funding

August 27, 2021

Beyond Capital Ventures, a new impact venture capital firm, has made its first investment in Viebeg Technologies, a Rwanda-based health-tech startup that uses an innovative data-driven procurement platform to offer high-quality medical supplies and equipment throughout Central and East Africa.

*Viebe’s Chief Executive Officer Tobias Reiter*

In Viebeg’s pre-seed funding round, Beyond Capital Ventures joins co-investment partners Beyond Capital Fund and Eckenstein Geigy Stiftung. Eva Yazhari, a general partner of Beyond Capital Ventures, will join also Viebeg’s board of directors.

“As AI enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, Alex and I became aware of the shortage of quality in-time medical supply in Africa and its consequences, namely millions of casualties per year,” said Viebe’s Chief Executive Officer Tobias Reiter. “Seeing the immense potential of technology in solving this tragic problem, our company was born.”

Why The Investors Invested

The recent fundraising round was largely influenced by Viebeg’s relative momentum over time. Since its inception, Viebeg has built a commercial presence in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving over 410 customers. With the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating the need to boost medical supply chains across the region and bolstering demand for key supplies, Viebeg is targeting an underserved $4 billion market in East and Central Africa.

“We are excited to partner with Tobias and Alex and are impressed by their deep commitment to improving the quality of healthcare for underserved populations,” said Eva Yazhari, Beyond Capital Ventures General Partner. “The Viebeg team has demonstrated resilience, agility, and the ability to successfully execute in challenging market conditions. I could not think of a better example of the type of company Beyond Capital Ventures will invest in.”

Beyond Capital Ventures is a women-led impact venture capital business focused on emerging countries, with a diversified, dynamic, and low-risk portfolio. The company invests in the next wave of technologies that will meet the needs of India’s and East Africa’s 1 billion+ consumers. Beyond Capital Ventures will invest in conscious leaders establishing firms to solve expanding needs in “need-to-have” areas, primarily healthcare, agriculture, and financial inclusion, and will open in Spring 2021. The fund will also be the first to use an Equitable Venture structure, which gives Series A level founders a profit share in the GP carry.

A Look At What The Startup Does

Viebeg Technologies was founded in 2018 by Tobias Reiter, who has past expertise building AI-driven platforms, and Alex Musyoka, who has worked in key capacities at medical supply firms like Crown Healthcare, East Africa’s largest player, and has sales and operations experience.

Medical equipment and supply shortages and unaffordability are recurring sources of exclusionary and poor-quality care in low-income Africa, leading in thousands of avoidable deaths each year. Viebeg’s data-driven logistics platform, which includes shipping, warehousing, last-mile distribution, and inventory management, enables healthcare facilities to better manage procurement, ensuring that they have the necessary types and quantities of medical supplies in store to treat patients effectively.

Viebeg can save its customers up to 40% on average by connecting healthcare practitioners directly with manufacturers, eliminating the need for brokers and middlemen in the value chain.

The Company’s mix of flexible financing and on-demand delivery also improves accessibility and convenience, allowing it to serve resource-strapped hospitals and clinics that were previously priced out of the market. Viebeg also uses customer data to forecast near-term medical supply needs and improve its own procurement procedures.

Viebeg Technologies health Viebeg Technologies health

Kenya’s MarketForce Is The Latest Beneficiary Of The Harambeans Prosperity Fund. Here’s How The Fund Works

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