The US $30 million E4E Africa Fund II has reached its first close, according to the South African venture capital fund E4E Africa, which is driven by entrepreneurs.
E4E Africa was established in July 2020 with support from the SA SME Fund. With its first fund, the organization invested in 11 startups, including digital marketplace Qwili, home services platform SweepSouth, and insurtech Pineapple.
The fund makes investments in top-tier entrepreneurial teams creating highly scalable and significant businesses in important Sub-Saharan African economic sectors, with a concentration on energy, fintech, e-health, and education and job tech. It gives founder-centric support top priority and adds value through its network of seasoned business owners.
With a target size of US $30 million, E4E Africa’s second fund has now reached first close. According to the company, it is now “actively attracting interest” from more investors, both domestically and abroad, which will allow it to increase its influence and reach.
“Our strong relationships with founders and seasoned African entrepreneurs has led to a surge in outstanding investment opportunities,” said Bas Hochstenbach, managing partner at E4E Africa. “This first close enables us to back the exceptional founders we see before us.”
Three businesses have already received investments from E4E Africa Fund II: Kwara, a Kenyan provider of core banking platforms; TUNL, a tech-enabled export shipping company based in South Africa; and a rapidly expanding company that is upending Kenya’s conventional embedded finance market.
“We are thrilled with the performance of our Fund II portfolio so far,” said Bakang Komanyane, principal at E4E Africa. “Our Fund II portfolio companies are thriving, and we are excited to announce a follow-on investment in the coming weeks.”
