Ventures Platform Closes $84m Pan-African Fund II, Surpassing $75m Target

African venture capital firm Ventures Platform  has announced the final close of its Pan-African Fund II at $84 million, exceeding its initial $75 million fundraising target.

The fund will increase Ventures Platform’s capacity to invest in early-stage startups across Africa, with a focus on companies at the pre-seed, seed and pre-Series A stages.

The firm said the new fund builds on a decade of backing African founders, particularly entrepreneurs developing new markets and expanding access to products and services across the continent.

Ventures Platform said Fund II will enable it to continue identifying promising founders across Africa and provide capital and support as they develop their businesses and progress into subsequent stages of growth.

The fund attracted commitments from new limited partners at its final close, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norfund, Alphatron and the Ashesi University Foundation.

The fund’s first close was backed by a group of institutional investors and development finance organisations, including Nigeria’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme (iDICE), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank Group, British International Investment (BII), Proparco through the EU-backed Choose Africa VC programme, MSMEDA, AfricaGrow and Alder Tree Investment.

Ventures Platform also acknowledged its existing limited partners across its first fund and syndicated funds for their continued support.

With the final close, the firm said it plans to maintain its focus on backing exceptional African founders and supporting companies through the early stages of building and scaling their businesses.