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African venture capital firm Django Capital has closed its second fund with €73 million (about $78 million), a 20% increase from its initial target of €60 million (about $63 million).
The company recorded the first close of the fund at €26 million in 2022, bringing on board limited partners such as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Founder Janngo Capital also participated in the fund’s second closing Fatoumata b TechCrunch said. They were joined by other institutional investors, three of whom have an African mandate: the MasterCard Foundation’s African Growth Fund, the Tunisian Fund of Funds ANAVA, and the Ghana-based Ashesi University Endowment Fund. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) also invested.
Development finance institutions such as the International Finance Corporation and the International Finance Corporation have played an active role in strengthening the startup ecosystem in Africa by investing in local funds that in turn support early-stage and growth-stage startups. However, local institutional investors remain reticent, so efforts by companies like Jango to bring in local capital help show confidence to foreign investors.
“Africa represents 17% of the world’s population, but attracts only 1% to 2% of global venture capital funding, a share that has remained stagnant despite growing from $150 million raised a decade ago to about 4 to 5 million,” Ba said. Billions of dollars today. . “If we believe technology is critical to Africa’s economic development, we must have proportionate access to venture capital. That’s why our goal wasn’t just about hitting a target or achieving an oversubscription — I wanted to attract private limited partners , especially African limited partners.
The company bills itself as a “gender equal” investor, and so far it has lived up to its name. Startups founded or led by women — such as Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform Sabi, which has a female CEO — make up 56% of Janngo Capital’s portfolio across both funds.
“Our thesis has not changed. We have proven it with exits such as Expenseswhere we were the first VC on their cap table. Also, as a fund founded by women, led by women, and owned mostly by women, we place a high value on investing in women entrepreneurs.”
“This focus is important because even though Africa has the world’s highest rate of female entrepreneurship, only a tiny share of global venture capital funding flows to women founders. So, demonstrating that the thesis is high-impact – directing capital to female founders Diversified, early-stage venture capital, sectors outside of fintech – that can be successful was essential for us.”
When this fund first closed two years ago, Janngo Capital initially planned to back 25 companies. But now that the additional money is in place, the company will invest in 10 to 15 more companies over the next five years, Ba said. The company expects its portfolio to include between 25 and 40 companies, and the second fund will not move away from the company’s primary focus to focus on Series B. The venture capitalist gets an ownership of between 15% and 30% in startups.
Since launching its first fund in 2018, Janngo has made more than 30 investments in 21 startups, occasionally investing in follow-on Series B rounds. Its first fund was around $10 million and has funded 11 companies, including Expensya and Sabi. The company has more than doubled in Series B rounds for both startups through its second fund.
Janngo invests between €150,000 and €5 million in startups operating in the healthcare, logistics, financial services, retail, agritech, mobility and creative economy sectors. The company also has offices in Abidjan, Mauritius, Tunisia and Paris.
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