Verod-Kepple VC Raises $43 Million for Pan-African Fund

Africa-focused venture capital Verod-Kepple, has raised $43 million for its fund targeting startups in the continent.

The fund, named Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) is the first fund set up by Verod-Kepple Africa Partners, which is a joint venture between Verod Capital Management Ltd and Kepple Africa Ventures.

Launched in 2022, VKAV invests in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue businesses addressing difficult challenges across various industries on the continent. VKAV’s current investments include:

• Moove Africa (Multiple markets: smart vehicle finance for mobility entrepreneurs);
• NowPay (Egypt: financial wellness for employees);
• Koko Networks (Kenya: clean cooking technology company);
• Ceviant (Nigeria: treasury management and trade finance); Chari (Morocco: B2B e-commerce for FMCG);
• Shuttlers (Nigeria: Affordable and reliable shared mobility);
• Nawy (Egypt: end-to-end platform powering property transactions),
• Julaya (Francophone West Africa: neobank for businesses in Africa).

The fund’s announcement comes on the back of a resilient 2022 in the African tech-ecosystem, where the interest in venture capital in Africa grew by 8% despite a global economic crisis.

Confidence in Africa

Ory Okolloh, another VKAV partner said the funding shows “the confidence that our world-class set of investors have in our team and differentiated value creation strategy.”

Eric Idiahi, Investment Committee and Portfolio Review Committee Member at VKAV and Partner at Verod Capital commented said Verod has a “strong performance track record investing in West Africa for 15 years” and has a “history of returning capital to investors, provides a solid platform to showcase a unique model for venture capital in Africa that combines investment experience with hands-on support.”

The funding round was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB). “We consider it as a critical step for us as a development development agency to integrate technology innovations and its fast-growing ecosystems into the broader arena of social and economic development in developing countries,” said JICA’s Senior Vice President Keiichiro Nakazawa.

Yasushi Anashige, Executive Manager and General Manager,  Impact Equity Investment Department at SMTB believes the funds will help to make “significant successes not only in making financial returns but also bringing Japanese corporates to Africa.” 

VKAV says its work has impacted over 800,000 lives across nine countries, six of which are in Africa, and created more than 2,000 jobs.  

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