Photos: Mostroneddo\YouTube Screenshots
An African venture capital firm positioning as a long-term investor in startups from their early stages towards maturity has raised $78 million for its next investment fund.
Janngo Capital, founded by Senegalese investor Fatoumata Ba, raised the fund through a range of equity investments over the last half decade.
They include $10 million from the Development Finance Corporation in Washington DC, and $6 million from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Mastercard Foundation’s Africa-focused fund also invested, while the African Development Bank had sourced €10.5 million ($11.4 million) for the fund three years ago.
“Fundraising in Africa as an emerging female fund manager — Francophone, in her thirties — it’s not for the faint of heart,” Ba told Semafor Africa. The firm exceeded its initial target of $65 million and plans to write checks of up to €5 million ($5.4 million) per startup, over multiple investments.
