Pan-African VC firm secures $83M to back early-stage startups across the continent

Ventures Platform has closed an oversubscribed $83 million second fund, expanding its investment focus beyond Nigeria to include Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. The firm plans to deploy checks of up to $3 million across fintech, healthcare, SaaS, and other sectors, with a particular interest in AI-driven business models that reduce service delivery costs. Founding partner Kola Aina noted that the fundraising environment was more selective, with limited partners demanding stronger evidence of performance and capital efficiency.

The fund's deployment timeline spans three to four years, with individual investments capped at $3 million. Ventures Platform's first fund, closed in 2022 at $46 million, concentrated on pre-seed and seed rounds across Nigeria, establishing the institutional framework that supported this larger raise.

The firm's expansion comes amid a contracting African venture landscape. Startups on the continent have raised roughly $930 million across 200-plus deals this year, down from $1.16 billion across 447 deals last year. Aina attributes the shift to limited partners demanding demonstrated performance, capital efficiency, and clear paths to realized returns rather than growth narratives alone.