Launch Africa, the VC firm that has backed over 100 startups, closes first fund at $36.3M

The $36.3 million fund, which was primarily used to invest in B2B and B2B2C startup across Africa, is closing today.

The managing partner of Launch Africa said in an interview that they backed over 100 startups. Nigerian neobank Kuda is one of the companies included.

The firm that invested in these startup earlier in their journey still invests in them. The average check size is $250,000 to $300,000. South African big data platform Carscan is one of the companies that are in these stages.

George says the firm, considered the most active early-stage VC on the continent, will continue to expand its geographic footprint. The managing partner said he couldn't think of a single fund that covered all the markets. We are doing deals in the countries of the Democratic Republic of the Africa. When we say pan- African, we really mean what we say.

George and Janade du Plessis launched Fund 1 at the height of the Pandemic. The fund's first close took place in September 2020.

Before launching Launch Africa, the partners had a lot of finance and investment experience. George is an angel investor and co-founding two well-known programs in Africa. The ex-chief investment officer of the African Development Bank was founded by Du Plessis.

Launch Africa has invested over $24 million in its portfolio companies. Most of these investments are one-time checks.

We don't have enough capacity for follow-ons in fund one. George said that if we were to reserve a significant portion of our fund for follow-ons, we wouldn't be able to cover the whole continent. Any of our portfolio companies that need significant capital at the next round of funding can be backed by our partners.

When they invest alongside the fund's lead checks, Launch Africa waives fees. Over fourteen million dollars has been deployed in Launch Africa portfolio companies.

According to du Plessis, the Launch Africa team works with experts to fast-track exit opportunities for investors. The exit strategy we provide instills investor confidence and brings significant benefits to the African tech community.

German-focused CommerzVentures is one of the Launch Africa'sLPs. The managing partner of the firm said his firm was excited to partner with Launch Africa to invest in some of the most exciting fintech investment opportunities in Africa. Over 42% of Launch Africa's companies are from the Fintech segment. e-commerce and marketplaces, healthtech, logistics and mobility, data analytics/ai, and edtech are included.

The image is from launch Africa.

Launch Africa, a venture capital firm, comes under fire for backing too many companies. George believes that the company's strategy is necessary given the stage Launch Africa plays.

There is little strategic non-financial value among pre-Series A investments. Angels, friends and family, and very regional VC firms are the main funders of the early stages. There isn't anything wrong with that It is the core of any mature industry. It's important to have a plan to scale into multiple geographies, and you can't do that if you play low.

George asserts that the ability to invest significant capital at the early stage and founder friendly terms with a lot of non-financial value-adds accelerates a company's growth from what would typically take three to four years to as little as 18 months. George believes that positioning ourselves as specialists in early-stage investing is the benefit.

Despite the gloomy VC landscape, Launch Africa might double down on some of its portfolio companies. Launch Africa said it would give follow-on capital via bridge and extension rounds to those going through cash crunches.

Margaret O'Connor, the company's board chairperson, said that they are working with each company in capital preservation and revenue generation. To help the founders understand how to navigate challenging macroeconomics and focus on how to make more money more quickly, we are trying to.

Africa's most active early-stage fund isn't the sole focus of Launch Africa. It wants to build a reputation for being inclusive. According to the firm, these themes are central to its investment ethos, as shown by the fact that almost all of the company's founders are African.