Kenyan venture firm Purple Elephant Ventures raised its Seed round to $5 M
Purple Elephant Ventures (PEV), a tourism-focused venture studio based in Nairobi, has added US $500,000 to its seed round, bringing the total to US $5 million.
PEV was founded by serial entrepreneur Mikul Shah, the founder of EatOut Africa; Jan Van der de Willebois, a former investment banker at Dyer & Blair; and CEO Ben Peterson, a former senior partner at AHL Venture Partners. The company plans to launch three or four startups annually.
Leading Africa’s tourism sector towards a greener future is the aim, and PEV startups are often scalable, tech-first solutions that accelerate pressing initiatives to strengthen the continent’s tourism sector’s sustainability and resilience to climate change.
In October 2022, PEV raised a US$1 million pre-seed round. In January, the company raised a US$4.5 million seed round, which included Fede Pirzo-Biroli (founder of Playfair Capital), Clear Creek Investment B.V., Klister Corp., Anthony Rock, and Ian McCaig (former CEO of Lastminute.com).
Bringing its total seed round to US$5 million, it has now obtained an additional US$500,000 investment from Alphatron, a Dutch single-family office under the Alphatron Group, further solidifying its position as one of the continent’s top tourism-tech endeavors.
“Alphatron’s investment is a testament to the transformative potential of regenerative tourism in Africa,” said Ben Peterson, co-founder and CEO of Purple Elephant Ventures. “Their support not only strengthens our financial position but also aligns with our vision of leveraging technology to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and thriving tourism industry.”
Alphatron Group director Floris de Kort claimed that his company had discovered the ideal fusion of market potential, sustainability, and innovation in Purple Elephant Ventures.
“Their vision for transforming Africa’s tourism sector through technology aligns perfectly with what we value at Alphatron. What resonated with us most was PEV’s understanding that technological advancement in tourism must prioritise environmental responsibility,” he said.
“This investment represents our commitment to partnering with visionaries who are reshaping industries for a climate-conscious future while delivering meaningful economic impact across Africa.”
Five high-impact startups that each fill important gaps in the hospitality ecosystem have been launched by PEV in a short period of time. They are JOIN Africa, PowerTrip, Zafari, Kijani Supplies, and Nomad Africa. In contrast to conventional venture studios, PEV maintains ownership and self-funds its startups, guaranteeing alignment with its long-term goal of promoting tourism innovation funding and producing revolutionary effects throughout Africa.
