According to a recent study, over 80% of new businesses fail during the first year of operation. Lack of funding turns out to be one of the common reasons. Money is the bloodline of any business. The long painstaking yet exciting journey from the idea to revenue generating business needs a fuel called capital.
Even though the Nigeria technology sector is making some real tractions in terms of funding, fundraising is still a major challenge for entrepreneurs in Nigeria. If you are looking to raise money for your startup? Here are top 10 early stage startup investors and VC fully operational in Nigeria.
1. Venture Platform.
Ventures Platform is an early-stage growth focused fund that supports post MVP teams in growing their startups. Ventures Platform backs Africa’s boldest entrepreneurs and helps them grow great companies around their ideas. Venture Platform was founded by Kola Aina an avid angel investor and startup mentor. Some of the popular Nigerian startups in Ventures Platform portfolio includes MobileForms, GeroCare, Accounteer, Jalo, PiggyBank, Wesabi and many more.
Also Read: Building A Small Business Vs. Building A Start-Up.
2. GreenHouse Capital.
Founded in January 2016 by Venture Garden Group, GreenHouse Capital is an independent investment holding company with a vision of building the largest Fintech investment holding company in Africa via direct investments in African technology companies that are supporting as well as disintegrating banking services. Till date, GreenHouse Capital has made some investment in popular Nigeria startups like Flutterwave, Max.NG, Rensource, Riby, and TalentBase.
3. SPARK Capital.
SPARK is a company that builds companies. Focused on Lagos, Nigeria SPARK provides early-stage funding and support for startups with defined and scalable revenue models. Founded by Jason Njoku of IrokoTV, SPARK currently has over 9 startups in its portfolio including Hotels NG, Paystack, OgaVenue, Drinks NG, Medsaf and more.
4. Growth Capital Fund.
Growth Capital Fund by CCHub is Nigeria’s first social innovation fund aimed at creating an unprecedented path to scale for outliers driving social change in Nigeria. GC-Fund supports high potential, early-stage businesses building our next generation infrastructure using technology. GC-Fund participating investors include CCHub itself, Omidyar Network, Bank Of Industry and Venture Garden Group.
5. LeadPath Nigeria.
LeadPath Nigeria is a seed capital fund that specializes in providing short, medium and long-term funding to small and medium-sized start-up businesses in high growth technology areas such as software, web and mobile technologies. LeadPath investment focuses on technology entrepreneurs that are solving real problems. The funds’ average investment ranges from $25,000 to $100,000.00 for seed investment and several millions of dollars for follow-on funding series.
6. GreenTree Investment Company.
GreenTree Investment Company is an investment company which avails startups access to funding, helps them implement “a bulletproof corporate governance framework”, and offer simplified financial planning and legal advice, among others. Since 2014 when the company was founded, it has funded many startups, most notable of which include Paystack, Precurio and Big Cabal Media.
7. Microtraction.
Microtraction provides hassle-free funding for technology entrepreneurs. Microtraction funds smart, relentlessly resourceful founders who are building high growth, technology-driven businesses in $Bn markets. Recently, the platform announced its investment in Nigeria startups like Cowrywise, BuyCoins, Wallet.ng, Allpro, and Thank-U-Cash.
8. Lagos Angel Network (LAN).
The Lagos Angel Network is the premier angel network in Nigeria and one of the most active in Africa. It is a network of business angels that put startup funding and mentoring into early-stage ventures in Lagos, Nigeria. Founded in 2014, LAN is the first members’ only network in Nigeria specifically created to finance early-stage and start-up businesses. Since its creation, LAN members have invested in over a dozen Lagos startups.
9. EchoVC Partners.
EchoVC Partners is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm focused on financing and cross-pollinating leading technologies, teams and business models in Sub-Saharan Africa and North America. As stage-agnostic investors with a combined network of local and global connections, EchoVC brings a disruptive approach to investing at the technology intersection of consumer, media, data, & devices and leverage knowledge transfer from Silicon Valley as a driver to seed growth across borders. The popular investments made by EchoVC includes Hotels NG, Cars45, Lifebank, MyPadi and Printivo.
10. SLA Accelerator.
The SLA Accelerator by She Leads Africa is a 3-month program designed to identify, support and fund the next generation of Africa’s brightest entrepreneurs. She Leads Africa is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting young African women and their journey towards professional success. The organisation has been featured on CNN, CNBC Africa, Black Enterprise and Fox Business and has more than 400,000 community members across Africa and the diaspora.
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