The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed up to $6 million in equity investment to Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II (VP II), a venture capital fund focused on early-stage technology-enabled startups across Africa. This investment aims to enhance access to seed-stage financing and value creation services for digital entrepreneurs on the continent.
Ventures Platform GP Limited, the fund manager, will oversee VP II. The firm, headquartered in Nigeria, is led by partners Kola Aina and Dotun Olowoporoku. While the fund will be deployed across multiple African markets, Nigeria remains a primary focus.
The IFC’s investment aligns with its broader strategy to strengthen Africa’s digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. Beyond direct capital infusion, the initiative seeks to stimulate the development of local venture capital markets through demonstration effects, enabling frameworks, and capacity-building efforts.
Ventures Platform, established in 2016 by Kola Aina, has evolved into a leading early-stage venture capital firm backing innovative African startups. The firm initially announced the first close of its $40 million fund in December 2021, attracting a diverse set of Limited Partners (LPs), including high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and prominent African investors. Its second close in 2024 increased the fund size to $46 million, with additional backing from institutional investors, commercial banks, and development finance institutions such as the IFC, British International Investment (BII), Proparco, and AfricaGrow.
VP II intends to deploy capital in sectors critical to Africa’s digital transformation, including fintech, insurtech, health tech, edtech, agritech, enterprise SaaS, and digital infrastructure. Over the years, Ventures Platform has established itself as a strategic partner for international investors seeking exposure to Africa’s emerging markets.
Since inception, Ventures Platform has invested in over 90 companies, including notable startups such as Piggyvest, PayHippo, Mono, SeamlessHR, Tizeti, and Printivo. The fund’s investment strategy emphasizes pre-seed and seed-stage startups, with an increasing allocation towards Series A rounds. It has also begun offering follow-on capital to support portfolio companies scaling beyond Series A.
From its $46 million fund, Ventures Platform has already deployed $19.6 million across different startups, with pre-seed (51.49%) and seed-stage (40.84%) companies receiving the majority of funding. A small proportion (7.64%) has been directed toward pre-Series A startups. Fintech remains a dominant sector, securing $6.8 million in funding, followed by SaaS ($2.8 million), health tech ($2.4 million), and B2B startups ($2 million). Additional investments totaling $7.9 million have been allocated to logistics, autotech, insurtech, and cleantech ventures.
Despite a slowdown in Africa’s venture capital landscape, Ventures Platform remains optimistic about investment opportunities, particularly in intra-African remittances and businesses with strong unit economics. According to Aina, the current market downturn presents an ideal environment for strategic investments, as it eliminates excessive speculation and rewards fundamentally sound business models.
While Ventures Platform initially concentrated on Nigerian startups, its recent expansion strategy includes investments in startups across South Africa, Zambia, and Egypt. The firm has also acknowledged the challenge of balancing the fund’s lifespan with the long-term needs of high-potential startups, an issue it aims to address through targeted follow-on funding.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is increasingly demonstrating its leadership in fostering African venture capital. Its recent investment activity highlights a strategic focus on key areas. This includes a $6 million commitment to Flat6Labs’ new $85 million Africa Seed Fund, supporting early-stage companies. Further demonstrating its pan-African reach, the IFC invested $6 million in equity into Lofty Alpha, a VC fund targeting early-stage tech startups across the continent as part of its $50 million round. Expanding its sector focus, the IFC also extended a $5 million commitment to Equator Africa Fund I, marking its strategic entry into the growing climate tech venture capital space. Additionally, the IFC acted as a limited partner in P1 Ventures’ first institutional fund ($50 million) and Janngo Capital’s second fund (€73 million/$78 million), which is notable for its dedication to diverse founders and underserved regions.
With global capital markets tightening, IFC’s move reinforces the growing importance of local venture capital funds in bridging the funding gap for African startups.