The International
Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a $5 million equity investment in P1
Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund focused on pre-seed and seed stage
investments in fintech, health, e-commerce marketplaces, and software.
Early-stage
technology investment in Africa has been mostly concentrated in Nigeria, Egypt,
South Africa, and Kenya, known as "the Big Four". While having an
active presence in Lagos, Cairo, and Nairobi, P1 Ventures is committed to
having half of its portfolio companies in underserved markets with strong
talent pools in Francophone Africa, as well as low-income countries supported
by the World Bank Group's International Development Association.
P1
Ventures Co-Founder and General Partner Mikael Hajjar, said: "IFC and P1
Ventures share a commitment to help ambitious African startup founders succeed
in nascent venture capital ecosystems and expand regionally and even globally. We
look forward to tapping into IFC's global network of clients and partners, as
well as its understanding of local markets and regulations, to identify unique
opportunities across the continent and help entrepreneurs become global
winners."
IFC's
role as the first public institutional investor in the fund is expected to help
P1 Ventures attract additional capital to reach its fundraising target. The
fund's first investment in early-stage startups will range from $500,000 to
$1.5 million per company. It will also offer operational support to its
portfolio companies, including helping them recruit experienced talent, forge
commercial partnerships, and facilitate acquisitions and business expansion
into new markets.
"IFC's
investment allocation to P1 Ventures will make it easier for early-stage tech
entrepreneurs to access growth capital, expand their operations, and attract
follow-on funding. By supporting market-disrupting digital business models, our
investment aims to increase the competitiveness and efficiency of traditional
markets in key sectors to boost inclusive economic growth across the continent.
More importantly, our work will help strengthen venture capital ecosystems in
Africa, especially in Francophone Africa markets underserved by global venture
capital," IFC's
Regional Director for West Africa, Olivier Buyoya, said.
The
investment is supported by IFC's Startup Catalyst (ISC) program, a platform
designed to invest in incubators, accelerators and seed funds supporting
innovative early-stage startups in emerging markets through mentoring,
networking, and funding. To date, IFC Startup Catalyst has supported 21
accelerators and seed funds that have invested in more than 1,180 startups in
24 emerging markets.
ISC's
support for high-risk markets, which have seen an increased pipeline of
startups, is part of IFC's effort to develop digital economies and help
startups access capital and global and local networks. In 2022, IFC launched a
venture capital platform to invest $225 million in innovative tech businesses
in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan. ISC's focus on
earliest-stage companies helps build a pipeline for the platform.
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