Oui Capital – is announcing the launch of its $30 million fund called the Oui Capital Mentors Fund II.

The fund has a mix of local and international investors, including Vibe Capital, D Global Ventures, One Way Ventures, Ground Squirrel Ventures, Seth Levine, Ryan McIntyre, and Tokunboh Ismael. Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of TeamApt and Gbenga Oyebode, an investor in TeamApt, complete the list.

In 2018, Olu Oyinsan, Managing Partner of Oui Capital, left his job as Vice President of Investments at Ingressive Capital to start a VC firm with Francesco Andreoli.

The following year, Oui Capital officially launched with a $10 million fund which the firm said would provide early-stage capital for Africa’s most innovative founders. With the new fund, the firm intends to continue investing in the continent’s pre-seed and seed stage companies.

Since its founding, the firm has invested in 18 startups across Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, and South Africa. These startups include the aforementioned TeamApt, Herconomy, Akiba Digital, Clane, Awabike, AIfluence, Intelligra, and Ndovu.

Across the world, VC activity has declined as startup valuations take a hit and some shut down. Buy now, pay later behemoth Klarna had previously raised $639 million in a round valued at $46 billion. However, its most recent fundraising saw its valuation drop significantly to $7 billion following an $800 million raise.

Nigeria’s startup ecosystem has experienced tremendous growth. Apart from receiving the most funding from venture capitalists on the continent, the success of startups such as Paystack and Piggyvest means that more local investors are comfortable with the idea of investing in startups.

Indeed some founders have begun investing either as angel investors or by launching their own funds.

Shola Akinlade, CEO and Co-Founder of Paystack, has been an active angel investor in the last two years, while Odunayo Eweniyi, COO and Co-Founder of Piggyvest, co-founded First Check Africa. Similarly, Magic Fund has some Nigerian founders as partners.

With Oui Capital’s new fund having a handful of local investors, it is hoped that this becomes a frequent theme among VC firms in the country.

Source: https://techpoint.africa/2022/08/01/oui-capital-launches-second-fund

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