Pan-African Early-Stage VC Firm, Ventures Platform, Raises $46 Million in Latest...

Pan -African VC firm, Ventures Platform, has announced the final close of its early-stage and intercontinental fund at $46 million.

We have some big news!

It is with great pleasure that we announce the final close of our oversubscribed early-stage pan-African fund, at $46M!https://t.co/VhcK6Wf6EH pic.twitter.com/TE8NUcXVaC

— Ventures Platform Fund (@vp_fund) December 15, 2022

The fund was over-subscribed and surpassed an initial $40M target bringing in a wide array of new investors. The investors include top-tier commercial banks, corporates, DFIs, global institutional investors, and HNIs, including:

• Standard Bank
• International Finance Corporation
• British International Investment
• A-to-Z Impact
• Proparco

Ventures Platform plans to use the fund to double down on some of its investments in ‘category-leading’ companies and will also allow for follow-on investments for portfolio companies, up to Series A, the firm said.

In addition, the firm has established an innovative ‘platform and networks’ practice intended to provide scalable and world-class post-investment support and value creation to its portfolio companies.

Ventures Platform has over 60 investments in companies across the continent, mainly in Nigeria.

Some of the firm’s investees include:

To further consolidate its pan-African reach, Ventures Platform is actively seeking opportunities in regions such as Kenya, Egypt, and French-speaking West Africa. The firm has invested in companies across various verticals and lists healthcare, financial services, agriculture, education, big data, and Internet Infrastructure as key areas.

 If you are a mission-driven founder, building a capital-efficient business that democratizes prosperity, plugs infrastructural gaps, connects under-represented communities, creates efficiencies, solves for non-consumption, and improves livelihoods, we would love to talk to you.” – Ventures Platform

Ventures Platform’s portfolio companies have to date gone on to raise more than $1B in follow-on funding, with the firm’s founder and general partner, Kola Aina, positive about more investment opportunities in spite of a challenging economic environment.

“We are also acutely aware that with our investment thesis, which is centered on market-creating innovations that thrive when value chains and markets are restructured, there continue to be incredible opportunities across the market,” Aina said.

Interested parties can apply to the fund here.

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Built With Bitcoin Foundation (BWB), a nonprofit organization seeking to provide ‘humanitarian support powered by Bitcoin,’ has opened the Bitcoin Technology Center (BTC), a learning and training center in  Ejisu City, Greater Kumasi, Ghana.

#Bitcoin Technology Center opens in Kumasi, Ghana pic.twitter.com/Qgxee1Mc1T

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 16, 2022

The center is built as a legacy for the just concluded Africa Bitcoin Conference and intends to equip the local community with skills and knowledge within the finance and technology industries. It is also an open community space that anyone can access for training and learning.

Part of the ceremony, which was attended by about 300 people, was the opening of the center by the elders of the village.

There is a goal to have at least 400 people trained at the facility in its first year of operation with several subjects lined up:

• Financial literacy: understanding money
• An introduction to Bitcoin
• Entrepreneurship
• Introduction to computers
• Introduction to coding

The center will also be running ‘Intro to Coding’ camps and hosting monthly meetups.

The center is expected to employ eight local workers, including administrators and lecturers. The Built With Bitcoin Foundation is funding the facility and is said to have the support of the local Edwinase community, Blockchain Foundation Africa, and the overall Bitcoin community.

30 workers were also employed in the construction process for the facility which wants to emulate a Bitcoin circular economy, similar to Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador and Bitcoin Ekasi in South Africa.

Yusuf Nessary, Founder and the Director of the Built With Bitcoin Foundation, said:

“Our mission is to amplify communities through education and this announcement is incredibly rewarding as we hope it creates a circular economy, something that can last the test of time. We cannot wait to see the center bring in its first round of students and see how the community grows in its wake.” – Director, Built with Bitcoin

Built with Bitcoin has so far built and repaired twelve schools and education centers, serving hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.

“The Built With Bitcoin Foundation is committed to empowering Africans through education and strengthening communities. We’re ushering in a new financial dawn, welcoming more to the table, and building a truly global economy,” said Paxful CEO Ray Youssef, Executive Director and the other founder of the Foundation.

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