Uche Cecil Izuora
Opportunities are growing for African startups as Nigerian venture-capital firm Ventures Platform closes its second institutional fund at $84 million.
This is expected to give it additional capital to back early-stage African start-ups while extending its reach beyond its traditional Nigerian market.
The firm announced on August 26 that VP Pan-African Fund II (PAF II) had reached its final close above its initial $75 million target. The fund will invest in African companies from seed through Series A.
The larger fund attracted new institutional investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norwegian development finance institution Norfund, Dutch group Alphatron, U.S.-based Ashesi University Foundation and a consortium of family offices.
PAF II plans to increase its presence in Francophone Africa and extend its activities into North Africa while continuing to invest in markets including Nigeria. The fund will target companies in fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech and artificial intelligence, with particular interest in business models addressing needs that remain underserved by existing markets.
Ventures Platform founder and managing partner Kola Aina said the fund’s focus extends beyond the amount of capital raised to the entrepreneurs the firm supports. He said portfolio companies are building businesses based on their understanding of local markets, technical expertise and governance.
PAF II reached a first close of $64 million in November 2025. Its investors included the Nigeria Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) program, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank, British International Investment (BII), Proparco through the European Union-backed Choose Africa VC program supported by EFSD+, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) and AfricaGrow.
Since its creation in 2016, Ventures Platform says it had financed more than 90 start-ups by the end of 2025. Its portfolio includes Raenest, Remedial, SeamlessHR, LemFi and Moniepoint.
PAF II’s closing comes at a time when Africa-based investors are taking a larger role in financing the continent’s start-ups.
According to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s Venture Capital in Africa Report 2025, published on Feb. 10, 2026, African investors accounted for 30% of venture-capital investors that backed companies operating on the continent in 2025. North American investors accounted for 28% and European investors 25%.
AVCA counted 188 Africa-based investors participating in funding rounds for companies operating on the continent in 2025. Most were based in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. AVCA considers this growing domestic investor presence a potentially more stable source of capital for Africa’s venture ecosystem at a time when overall equity funding has declined.
Equity financing fell 21% to $2.1 billion in 2025 from $2.7 billion in 2024. Deal activity, however, remained close to the previous year’s level, with 432 transactions completed in 2025.