Janngo Capital, Africa’s largest gender-equal tech venture capital firm, has closed its second fund at €73 million (about $78 million).
The raise was 20% oversubscribed, exceeding the initial target of €60 million (about $63 million).
The firm closed the first fund at €34 million ($36.9 million) in 2022, enlisting limited partners such as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and European Investment Bank (EIB).
Both anchor investors also participated in the fund’s first close. They were joined by other institutional investors, three of which have an African mandate: the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Tunisia’s fund of funds ANAVA, and the endowment fund of Ghana-based university Ashesi University. The U.S International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) also participated in the round.
Related Post: French VC Breega Launch $75M Africa-Focused Fund
Over the years, development finance institutions like the DFC and IFC have bolstered Africa’s startup ecosystem by investing in local funds supporting early and growth-stage startups. Yet, local institutional investors remain reserved, so efforts by firms like Janngo to bring in local capital help signal confidence to foreign investors.
“Africa represents 17% of the global population, yet attracts only 1%-2% of global VC funding, a share that has remained stagnant despite growth from $150 million raised a decade ago to around $4 billion-$5 billion today,” Janngo Capital founder Fatoumata Bâ said.
“If we believe tech is critical to economic development in Africa, we should have proportional access to VC. That’s why our goal wasn’t just about hitting the target or achieving oversubscription — I wanted to attract private LPs, especially African LPs,” she added.
Janngo Capital’s Increasing Gender-Equal Portfolio
Janngo Capital portrays itself as a gender-equal investor and has so far lived up to that name. Women-led or women-founded startups comprise 56 percent of its portfolio across both funds.
The VC firm’s portfolio includes startups founded or led by women, such as Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform Sabi, which has a female CEO.
Related Post: African VC Firm P1 Ventures Completes Close of 2nd Fund at $35M
“Our thesis hasn’t changed. We’ve proven it with exits like Expensya, where we were the first VC on their cap table. Also, as a female-founded, female-led, and predominantly female-owned fund, we place high importance on investing in female entrepreneurs,” Bâ explained.
“This focus is important because, while Africa has the world’s highest rate of female entrepreneurship, only a tiny share of global VC funding flows to female founders. So, showing that a high-impact thesis—directing capital to diverse founders, early-stage VC, and sectors beyond fintech—can deliver was essential for us.”
When it marked this fund’s first close two years ago, Janngo Capital initially planned to back 25 companies. But now that the additional funds are in, the firm will invest in another 10 to 15 companies over the next five years, Bâ said.
The firm expects its portfolio to have between 25 and 40 companies; the second fund will not depart from its seed to Series B focus. The VC takes 15% to 30% ownership in startups.
Since launching its first fund in 2018, Janngo has made more than 30 investments in 21 startups, sometimes in follow-on Series B rounds. Its first fund had about $10 million and seeded 11 companies, including Expensya and Sabi. With this second fund, the firm will solidify its efforts on both startups’ Series B rounds.
Related Post: Panache Ventures and Kora Partner to Drive Venture Capital Growth in Africa
Janngo invests €150,000 (about $160,000) to €5 million (about $5,416,677) in startups operating in the healthcare, logistics, financial services, retail, agritech, mobility, and creator economy sectors. The firm has offices in Abidjan, Mauritius, Tunis, and Paris.
Image Credits:Janngo Capital
