Venture Capitalists are professional money managers.
If you are an emerging company with high growth potential and you are finding it hard to secure standard business credit, then venture capital financing may be just for you. Venture capital is the most sought after financing method by most entrepreneurs. It provides the much-needed capital injection to move the business to the next level. However, the main risk of venture capital is the loss of control over the business.
Before seeking out venture capitalists to invest, consider all the upsides and downsides of venture capital. Meanwhile, here are the top (in no particular order) venture capitalists (partners and firms) in Kenya:
Venture Capitalists (Partners & Firms)
1. Novastar Ventures Ltd.
Novastar Ventures is both private equity and venture capitalist firm with presence in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria. They specialize in early-stage investments, particularly BoP markets, typically in East & West Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. Their primary areas of investment are education, healthcare, agri-business, food and water sectors. Their cash injections run between $0.25million and $8million.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Stage: Early Stage
Portfolio: Bridge International Academies, GreenPath, Hivisasa, iProcure, Komaza, M-Farm, Moko Funiture, and more.
2. TLcom Capital
TLcom Capital is a global venture capitalist that has been investing in Southern Africa, Europe, USA and Isreal since its inception in 1999. They seek to invest between $ 0.5M to 10M in fast-growth tech-enabled business that seeks to solve the complex issues that our continent is facing. Therefore, their investments cut across commercial services, communications and networking and software industry. So far, they have successfully exited 18 African investments through acquisition by strategic buyers and private equity funding.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Type: Early to Growth Stage
Portfolio: Twiga Foods, Andela and more.
3. Fanisi Capital Ltd
Fanisi Capital is a venture capital and private equity firm that is part of Amani Capital. Founded in 2009, they invest $0.5million to $3 million in companies with a turnover of about $1million to $8million. Their region of focus is East Africa, with a more specific focus in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Their mode of investing is to take a minority or majority stake in the form of straight equity, usually preferred equity or quasi-equity and convertible debt.
Fanisi Capital specializes in early-stage start-ups, expansion/growth and buyout/acquisition capital. They like to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises cutting across the board industries. The industries include technology, agri-business, retail, financial services, real estate, energy, natural resources, manufacturing, media, education, healthcare, tourism, transport and logistics – just to name a few.
Investor Type: Venture Capital & Private Equity
Investment Stage: Early Stage, Expansion/Growth and Buyout/Acquisition
Portfolio: Hillcrest International Schools, Sophar Limited, Haltons Limited, Live Ad Limited and more.
4. Safaricom’s Spark Fund
The Safaricom Spark Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in late seed to early growth start start-ups that use mobile technology as an enabler. Therefore, their main aim is to support the development and growth of high potential mobile tech start-ups. The fund seeks to provide support through a combination of capital investment, business development support, technical assistance by leveraging on Safaricom’s unique capabilities, assets and market positioning.
The fund size is about USD1M, providing minority equity stake or convertible debt to selected start-up for about Ksh 6M to Ksh 22M in capital infusion.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Stage: Start-up
Portfolio: Sendy, Lynk, Ajua, Eneza, iProcure and Farm drive.
5. Savannah Fund
The Savannah Fund is a seed fund that specializes in early-stage high growth technology start-ups in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. They invest about $50,000 – $1,000,000 in early-stage high growth potential tech-firms that are web-based or mobile-based.
Alongside the capital infusion, they also provide mentor networks both in the region and from Silicon Valley through their accelerator program and a follow-on independent seed fund.
Investor Type: Micro venture Capital
Investment Stage: Early Stage, Seed Capital
Portfolio: Moringa School, Copia, Eneza, Sendy and more.
6. Adullam Ventures
Adullam Ventures is a Kitale based venture capital firm that seeks to invest in youth-led start-ups. Therefore, Adullam Ventures mainly invests in small businesses targeting the youth in need of capital – for starting or growing their businesses. In addition to providing funding, they also assist businesses with professional services and technical assistance.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Type: Early Stage
Portfolio: Letta Snacks
7. Viktoria Ventures
Viktoria Ventures seeks to connect start-ups and angel investors and support the growth of entrepreneurs in various sectors of East Africa. They invest in firms that are post-prototype and post-first revenue, with a founding team with sector expertise as well as technical and business know-how.
Viktoria Ventures provides support in the following ways:
- Advisory. Provide advice to investors and provide portfolio management support.
- Connection. Create linkages to successful start-up ecosystem in other countries.
- Research. Conduct research and facilitate planning for development organizations that seek to catapult growth.
- Start-up Programs. Develop, provide resources and manage for incubation and acceleration programs.
Investor Type: Angel Capital
Investment Stage: Early Stage
Portfolio: ManPro Sytems, Mesozi
8. Africa Tech Ventures
Africa Tech Ventures is a Kenyan based venture capitalist with vast experience in investing in early-stage tech-enabled businesses. They particularly focus on companies that increase access to essential goods and services or provide solutions that increase access to markets and financial services. Therefore, they invest between $0.1M to $5M in exchange for a minority stake in the company. This equity capital comes with hands-on support to foster growth and scalability of the business.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Type: Early Stage
Portfolio: Cellulant, FarmDrive, mSurvey, Pezesha and more.
9. Afza Capital
Afza Capital is a Nairobi based venture capital firm that was founded in 2020 with the aim of investing in Medtech, fintech, agriculture and education. They seek to invest in early-stage companies that have a social impact.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Type: Early Stage
Portfolio: Popote Pay, Daktari Africa
10. East Africa Capital Partners
East African Capital Partners is an investment advisory and business facilitation firm with particular expertise within East Africa. They seek to invest in start-ups in the technology, media, telecommunications and network industries.
Investor Type: Venture Capital
Investment Type: Early Stage
Portfolio: Wananchi Group
Other Notable Venture Capitalists
- Afvest Limited is a venture capital fund that offers an investment ticket size of Ksh 50M to 100M.
- Enza Capital makes seed investments of up to $1M in start-ups in the information technology sector. They also offer entrepreneurial guidance and operational expertise to drive growth in funded start-ups.
- FSD Africa is aided by the UK Government with the aim to reduce poverty across Sub Saharan Africa. Their main focus is the financial sector, providing early-stage, risk-bearing capital. Their aim is to help building efficient and inclusive financial markets.
- Kenya Feed the Innovation Engine (KFIE) is an impact investment organization. They seek to foster innovation in solving problems such as food security, undernutrition and poverty.
- Kuria Capital is another venture capital fund that seeks to provide seed capital and business incubation for start-ups. They seek minority equity positions with the goal of end-term divesture or retention of strong value gainers.
- Investeq Capital is an impact investor with the aim of developing financial services in Africa. They offer private equity and venture capital for startups, along with advisory services to improve the financial capacity of the company.
- Saviu Ventures is a venture capitalist that invests in seed-stage, early-stage and later-stage companies. It seeks to invest in category-defining tech companies in commercial products, commercial services, retail, e-commerce, fintech and mobility sectors.
- SUNU Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm. It exclusively invests in Agriculture, consumer non-durables, logistics, pharmaceuticals, retail, software, and transportation sector.
- TBL Mirro Funds is a private equity and buyout firm with a focus in commercial services, healthcare services, IT services and software sector.
- White Rhino Capital is a venture capitalist with a primary focus on commercial services, financial services and software sector.
- 88Mph is a seed fund and accelerator that seeks to provide resources to accelerate the group of startups. Notable start-ups that were under 88mph are Mdundo, Yum, Ghafla and more.
Learn more: Venture Capital: Everything You Need to Know
Summary
Since Kenya has one of the best start-up ecosystems, a lot of venture capitalists have established a base here. They are always searching for the next big investment opportunities. So, before you jump into any relationship, take the time to reflect on what your business really needs and where you want to be. Understand that any potential venture capitalist will have a certain level of expectation of their relationship with you. They might want to be ‘hands-on’, or ‘hands-off’.
Also, take into consideration your core goals and values, and whether you are willing to compromise on any of them if it means growth for the business. Also, weigh your other needs in terms of additional expertise, connections and resources that you might get once you enter into this relationship. Does it outweigh the risk of losing ownership and control?
Image credits: Top by Brian Ngali from Pexels