Ventures Platform adds 10 startups to its portfolio
Summary
Last December, founder Kola Aina shared with TechCabal news about the launch of a new $40 million fund aimed at finding, funding and supporting groundbreaking market-creating innovation opportunities to create prosperity and position Africa as a formidable force in global markets.Contributing to the fund are leading names in Africas technology and corporate ecosystem including UAC Nigeria, VFD Group, Gbenga Oyebode, Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade, as well as global investors like Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel, and Boost VC founder Adam Draper.Since its launch in 2016, Ventures Platform has backed almost 70 startups including Seamless HR, PiggyVest, Mono, and Paystack.This year, the firm has participated in at least 2 investments including Earnipays $4 million seed round, and Remedial Healths $1 million pre-seed round.Ten new startups have joined the firms portfolio, originating from Nigeria, Zambia, and Kenya: Fluna, Catlog, Shekel, and TopUp Mama.Topup Mama is a Kenya-based restaurant management platform for African restaurateurs to unify and optimise Africas fragmented food and beverages supply chain. Ventures Platform invested in Topup Mama because the founder understood the problem deeply, having grown up as the son of a restaurant owner and experiencing the daily challenges and constraints to growth himself. The founders are ideally suited to disrupt this billion-dollar market, the companys blog post read.The B2B SaaS treasury management and financing platform Fluna was selected because the firm believes that the founders are leading the charge to close the $5 trillion total credit gap in developing and emerging economies. Launched in 2021, Flunas product offerings include automated treasury reporting, cash flow forecasting, and multi-bank data feed.Shekel earned Ventures Platforms support because of its goal to redefine the urban mobility sector. Shekel, which was founded in 2021 is presently operating in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and the US and claims to have powered over $6 million in transactions.Theres also Catlog, a social commerce platform that enables merchants on social media platforms to reach massive audiences with cutting-edge sales and marketing tools.