European Bank Invests $8m In Ventures Platform Fund, Targets Nigeria, 4 Others

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested $8 million in the Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II, targeting early-stage technology companies in Nigeria and four other African countries.

The investment is expected to support technology startups with strong growth potential in Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal, as part of efforts to deepen access to growth capital, promote innovation and create jobs across the continent.

The EBRD said the investment was made under its Early-Stage Innovation Facility II, a €200 million programme through which the development finance institution invests in commercially oriented venture capital funds.

The facility is designed to strengthen Africa’s early-stage investment ecosystem by providing capital to venture funds that support innovative businesses and help them scale.

Commenting on the investment, Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, said the partnership demonstrated growing institutional confidence in Africa’s technology and innovation ecosystem.

Aina said the EBRD’s participation would strengthen the fund’s capacity to support ambitious African founders in developing solutions to critical problems and creating new markets.

“We are delighted to welcome the EBRD as an investor in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II. Its commitment reflects a shared conviction that Africa’s next generation of globally relevant technology companies will be built by founders solving meaningful problems and creating new markets,” he said.

According to him, beyond providing capital, the EBRD’s investment would help strengthen confidence in Africa’s innovation economy and enhance the fund’s ability to support companies with long-term growth potential.

“Beyond the capital, the EBRD’s participation signals growing institutional confidence in Africa’s innovation economy and strengthens our ability to back ambitious founders building enduring companies that create value for Africa and the world,” Aina added.

Also speaking on the investment, the EBRD’s Managing Director of Equity, Dirk Werner, said innovation was becoming increasingly important to Africa’s economic development, but noted that venture capital remained insufficient relative to the scale of entrepreneurial activity across the continent.

“Innovation is increasingly shaping Africa’s economic future, yet venture capital remains underdeveloped relative to the scale of entrepreneurial activity across the continent,” Werner said.

He explained that the EBRD’s investment in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II was aimed at strengthening the market infrastructure required for innovative businesses to secure capital and expand their operations.

“By investing in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II, we are helping to strengthen the market infrastructure that enables innovative businesses to access growth capital and scale their impact,” he added.

The EBRD said its participation alongside other development finance institutions, international financial institutions and private commercial investors demonstrated continued support for Africa’s venture capital ecosystem.

It added that the investment reflected growing confidence in the long-term prospects of African technology companies and the role of venture capital in supporting innovation-driven economic growth.

The bank commenced investments across five sub-Saharan African countries in 2025 and has invested €620 million in the region in less than a year.

The latest investment in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II is expected to further expand financing opportunities for early-stage technology companies while strengthening the capacity of African startups to develop, scale and compete in regional and global markets.