The Flip’s Post

Luck or not, Oui Capital's $8M exit demonstrates the potential of calculated early-stage bets and reinforces the promise of African venture capital.

Are you looking for investors that align with your faith and values? As a founder who is building a startup that aligns with my faith and ethical values, one of the things that I struggle with is fundraising. Yes, many founders struggle with fundraising But for me and other like-minded founders, we want to fundraise from investors who understand our values and are ready to agree to terms that won't make us compromise on those values. This is one of the reasons I decided to build a community of ethical investors at Halvest. Our first check of $100k was from this community and we have gone on to invest in 3 other startups whose values align with ours. Whilst I am not actively participating in venture investing, there are other players with VC funds. I thought to compile a list of some of them here for you: 1. Cur8 Capital : IslamicFinanceGuru's VC firm that has invested millions in many startups across the UK and other markets 2. Wahed Ventures: Wahed's venture capital firm based out of the UK and are about to launch in Malaysia. 3. HASAN VC: Ethis's accelerator and VC firm. Halvest is a proud member of this community. 4. Innate Capital Partners: A VC firm that has invested in household names like IslamicFinanceGuru, Zoya, Manzil and others 5. Alif.build: Saw this on Omar Waseem's recent post and I thought it was cool. It's a 7 week accelerator based out of SF. 💚 If you liked this post, please reshare with those who might be in need of this.

Balderton is Doubling Down with Fresh $1.3 billion Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s top venture capital firms, has announced $1.3 billion in new funds to support European entrepreneurs. This includes a $615 million Early Stage Fund IX and a $685 million Growth Fund II, marking the largest combined early and growth-stage funds focused exclusively on Europe. For the first time, Balderton raised both funds simultaneously, reflecting strong investor demand and the growing global interest in Europe's tech landscape. Balderton, founded in 2000, has a 25-year history of investing in more than 275 technology companies across sectors like AI, fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, and mobility. Its portfolio includes global leaders such as Revolut, Dream Games, GoCardless, and Contentful, with several companies like Darktrace and Depop achieving successful exits. Europe has emerged as a global tech hub, with London and Paris at the forefront of AI innovation. The European ecosystem’s strengths—world-class institutions, engineering talent, and a mature funding landscape—have led to significant returns for investors. According to Invest Europe and Cambridge Associates, European VC funds outperformed their North American counterparts over 10- and 15-year periods. Balderton’s new funds will continue backing ambitious founders from seed stage to IPO, offering hands-on support through its Balderton Platform, which includes legal, financial, and marketing expertise, alongside its Founder Wellbeing and Performance platform which offers executive coaching and mental health support. The firm’s network also includes a community of over 700 technology executives, enabling peer support and collaboration. Balderton’s commitment to supporting European startups and their most visionary entrepreneurs is reflected in its robust platform and the extensive resources available to its portfolio companies. With 65 team members and a diverse investment approach, the firm is well-positioned to fuel Europe’s tech growth. Bernard Liautaud, Managing Partner explains: "At Balderton, we believe the best way to change the world is to build a business – and that many of these world-changing businesses will be built in Europe. As a firm, our mission is simple: to be the partner of choice to the founders starting and growing those European technology companies. These new funds put us in a position to do just that." ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ Please use G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks, or send an inquiry to info@gplusquant.com #VentureCapital #TechInvestment #EuropeanTech #StartupGrowth #AI #Fintech #Innovation #BaldertonCapital

In February, Partech, the global VC firm that has backed companies like TradeDepot and Wave, fully closed ‘Partech II,’ an over $300 million (€280 million) Africa-focused fund—the largest on the continent. It was a delightful turn of events for the VC firm that initially targeted raising about $282 million (€230 million), and for a continent that saw VC funding decline by 46% in 2023. Partech Africa II attracted significant interest from individual and international institutional partners, such as family offices and development finance institutions (DFIs). This is partly attributed to Partech’s regional experience, as evidenced by the $500 million acquisition of a portfolio company, Sendwave, and the attainment of unicorn status by Wave, another portfolio company. The VC fund is led by general partners Tidjane Dème and Cyril Collon, who, before joining Partech, operated several businesses in Africa. They joined the VC firm in 2016—three years before its first Africa-focused VC fund, Partech Africa I, closed at $143 million. Partech Africa II invests across various sectors, with current holdings in e-commerce, healthcare, and real estate. The previous fund invested in 17 companies across seed to Series C stages. Partech II will priortise Series A and B rounds, with investment sizes ranging from $1 million to $15 million per startup. The new fund has already made three investments in Revio, a South African payment startup, an undisclosed e-commerce platform in Senegal, and an undisclosed real estate startup in Egypt. TechCabal sat down with Tidjane Dème, one of the general partners. He described the firm’s investment approach in Africa, what Partech seeks in founders and the businesses they back, and how the fund is intentionally working towards exits.

The Leaders Behind: Introducing the 1818 Venture Capital Partners At 1818 Venture Capital, we don't just back innovative startups, we back them with the power of experience. Forget throwing money at ideas – we believe in true partnership, and that starts with our powerhouse team. 🔝 Leaders Who've Seen It All (and Done Most of It) Our partners bring over five decades of combined experience to the table. They are serial entrepreneurs with extensive experience in banking, FinTech, and startups across multiple markets. Having built, launched, and exited their own ventures, they know precisely what it takes to transform an early-stage idea into a market leader. Meet the Partners: 👤 Richard Avery-Wright, Founding Partner: A serial entrepreneur with more than four decades of experience in financial services, Richard has a keen eye for spotting golden opportunities. He has led investments in over 40 early-stage companies and co-founded ventures such as Pie Funds Management, Castle Point Funds Management, RAW Capital Partners, Wealthify, and 1818 Venture Capital. 👤 Ben Lloyd, Investment Partner: Former executive at a major GCC bank and a FinTech entrepreneur himself, Ben brings over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry. Ben's track record of investing in the FinTech and digital space speaks for itself – he consistently delivers top portfolio performance. With experience as a Chief Digital Officer at a PLC bank, a FinTech founder, and an FCA regulated individual, Ben understands the industry from every angle. Curious to learn more about our team? Head over to our website for more insights on who else stands behind 1818’s investment decisions. #1818VentureCapital #VC #FinTech #StartupSuccess

Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures(VKAV) has announced its plan to back up to 21 growth-stage companies across the continent after closing its first fund at $60 million. The pan-African VC hit the milestone following fresh backing from new investors including Nigeria's SCM Capital, Taiyo Holdings and C2C Global Education Japan. The VKAV fund invests between $1 million and $3 million, with the ability to follow on. The VC fund invests in companies that are building infrastructure for the digital economy, solving inefficiencies encountered by businesses and market creators for the emerging consumer population. It focuses on backing companies targeting shifts in consumer trends. VKAV has already invested an average of $1.5 million in 12 companies from Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Ivory Coast and South Africa. The investees span the fintech, mobility, e-commerce, proptech, deep tech, insurtech, energy and healthcare sectors. Some of the companies that VKAV has invested in include Uber-backed Moove Africa, climate tech scale-up KOKO Networks, Nigerian shared mobility startup Shuttlers, aerospace startup Cloudline, Morocco’s B2B e-commerce and retail startup Chari, and insurtech mTek-Services. Exciting news for the African tech ecosystem! Congratulations Ory Okolloh and Team! https://lnkd.in/dF49SMrS

Benchmark’s $170M partners-only fund is a strong signal of confidence in venture-backed startups, especially at a time when many firms are tightening their belts. As I noted in my post last week, CRV recently downsized its fund in response to a more cautious market outlook. While it will take time to deploy the capital, Benchmark’s decision to raise this separate fund, using primarily personal capital, suggests that they see viable opportunities ahead and believe in the potential for strong returns, despite broader market caution. This contrast in strategies highlights how firms are adapting to current market conditions - Benchmark sees untapped potential, while others take a more conservative stance. #VentureCapital #Startups #MomentusLegal #MarketTrends https://lnkd.in/gpDXjKcE

Norrsken22 Invests $205 Million in Africa’s Growing Fintech Sector. Norrsken22, established by five individuals with extensive experience in venture capital and private equity, includes founding partners Niklas Adalberth and Hans Otterling, along with managing partner Natalie Kolbe general partners Ngetha Waithaka and Lexi Novitske, CFA. This venture capital firm, nearly two years old, has operational teams in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. The partners launched the fund, named the Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund, in January last year after reaching the first close at $110 million. Approximately 59% of the funding came from a consortium of 30 unicorn founders globally, including Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola, Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, Embajadores iZettle co-founder Jacob de Geer, and Delivery Hero co-founder Niklas Östberg. Norrsken22 began its fundraising at a time when there was a significant surge in capital flowing into the tech sector. In addition to discussions with several development finance institutions (DFIs) and family offices, a prerequisite for raising a large fund in Africa, the firm aimed to achieve the final close by the end of 2022. However, the global tech investment landscape has experienced a pullback since then, impacting fundraising efforts across the board, including from institutional investors. In 2022, venture capital activity in Africa reached $5 billion to $6 billion. So far, in 2023, it has dwindled to a range between $2.5 billion and $3.4 billion (based on data from Africa: The Big Deal and @Briter Bridges ), reflecting the decline in overall VC activity. #venturecapita #Africa #startups #technology #innovation #ecosystem Kara Komuhangi Hon Evelyn Anite Marie Bradshaw iventure AFRICA Baguma Richard Garvin Asimwe Adi Jaimee Zuk https://lnkd.in/ddeninSQ

VCLink's weekly Investor Fundraise Report: 1. Industry Ventures has raised more than $800 million for its new fund. The San Francisco-based firm is already deploying this capital into new investments. https://lnkd.in/eB6MJqCK 2. Kevin Hartz’s A* has raised $315 million for its second oversubscribed fund in three years. The new fund, which saw participation from institutional investors, will focus on leading seed rounds and doubling down on portfolio companies at the Series A stage. https://lnkd.in/ezVTZJ8z 3. Alpine Space Ventures has secured $155 million for its space-focused VC fund. The fund, which received investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), will invest in space technology startups. https://lnkd.in/erRnKBtk 4. Breega has raised $75 million in the first close of its Africa Seed I fund. The fund, which saw participation from Bpifrance and the FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, will invest in pre-seed and seed startups across Africa, focusing on industries with transformative impacts. https://lnkd.in/eWj28E6a 5. Zendesk has set up a venture arm to invest tens of millions of dollars in early-stage AI startups. The fund will focus on companies that enhance customer service through AI integration. https://lnkd.in/djYzEh63 6. Iñaki Arrola’s Kfund has raised €70 million for its sixth fund, K3. The fund will intensify support for high-impact projects in Southern Europe, particularly in technologies like AI, Data Analytics, and 5G connectivity. https://lnkd.in/giPEt6HJ

I see a spectrum of VC fundraising efforts. On the one hand I see many fund managers, and many of them by smaller venture funds, first time fund managers and Solo-GPs who are struggling to raise $5-10m funds. On the other hand you see the big funds who has been in the business for 10+ years and kept on going who are raising significants amounts of money for early and growth startup investing. Creandum announced the closing of their Euros 500m fund VII which is an impressive number. Creandum started around 21 years ago with their fund I of about Euros 30m. Fast forward to 2024, the fund returned to its LPs almost 7 times what it has invested in its portfolio companies between 2007 and 2021 according to the Financial Times article and 1 in six companies in its portfolio has a unicorn status of over $1 billion market valuation. 5 out of the 8 largest US University endowments are among Creandum's Limited Partners and the rest is from European Pension Funds, family offices and funds of funds. As I'm working with fund managers who are building their first funds, I tell them that building a fund is a resilient entrepreneurial journey, just like the founders they back. You hustle first, but if you are persistnat and hang in there, and you return your investment to your LPs you will see the big numbers but this will take around 15-20 years to get there. Building a new venture fund is very similar to building any other business or startup. Patience, resilience, hard work, great team and also some luck. Congrats Europe 🇪🇺 , congrats Creandum 👏 #venturecapital #investments #privateequity #startups #investors #money #entrepreneurship #raisingcapital #funds #fundoffunds #limitedpartners #finance Staffan Helgesson, Sabina Wizander, Jonathan Biggs, Peter Specht, Simon Schmincke, Johan Brenner, Hanel Baveja, Fredrik Cassel  , Carl Fritjofsson, Beata Klein, Daniel Blomquist, Nick Wilkins, Natalia Ilmark, Roger Johanson, Cecilia Gross Friberger, Till Gutzen https://lnkd.in/eX6AMjxc