P1 Ventures, a pan-African Seed Venture Capital (VC) fund, has announced the second close of its $35 million fund to expand its team and operations to Dakar, Senegal, and Nairobi, Kenya.
The investment firm aims to utilize the funds to accelerate its efforts in sectors such as AI-powered Software as a Service (SaaS), where it perceives Africa to hold a significant economic advantage.
With aspirations to reach $50 million by the final close of this fund, the company disclosed that it has welcomed the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) as its first public institutional investor, aligning with its mission to support Africa’s top entrepreneurial talents.
The partnership with IFC is expected to aid P1’s early-stage tech startups in securing growth capital to scale operations and attract follow-on funding.
In September 2023, the investment firm concluded its second fund at $25 million, securing investments from various industrial conglomerates, private companies, and general partners from European and United States-based global funds.
This investment follows P1 Ventures’ recruitment of its inaugural in-house data scientist last year to spearhead AI-powered deal sourcing efforts for talent and deal flow across the continent, marking a pioneering move for African investors.
The company, reporting a threefold revenue growth year on year for its Fund II companies, is attracting investment amidst a backdrop of dwindling global venture capital and foreign investor retreat from the continent.
Established in 2020 by General Partners Mikael Hajjar and Hisham Halbouny, P1 Ventures is dedicated to bridging the capital gap hindering African startup growth, focusing on supporting the continent’s top entrepreneurs.
P1 Ventures aims to back founders leveraging emerging technologies like generative AI to reimagine various industries, including healthcare, banking, retail, and agriculture.
The investment firm prioritizes supporting seasoned business owners and recurring founders with validated products and market-proven software business models capable of efficiently generating capital and attracting early clients.
With a reported strategy that sees every $1 invested resulting in 35 times more follow-on capital, P1 Ventures challenges the prevailing trend where 90% of foreign investment is concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa.
Distinguished by its diverse portfolio of African companies spanning the continent, some notable startups in P1 Ventures’ portfolio include Algeria’s mobility and logistics platform, Yassir; Egypt’s savings app, Money Fellows; Nigerian-based employee healthcare platform, Reliance Health; and Francophone-focused ecommerce and fintech app, Chari.
Source: Techpoint