African Business Angel Network (ABAN) is a pan African non-profit association founded to support the development of early stage investor networks across the continent and to get many more (early stage) investors excited about the opportunities in Africa.
ABAN seeks to promote a culture of Angel investing across Africa. There are networks emerging across the continent, but there is yet a conversation in place that connects them. There is a sincere need to collect/develop best practices and to make this knowledge available. To create a resource and contact point for promoting new networks and/or supporting other stakeholders looking to get involved in building the ecosystem. Also to engage private sector investors and to offer some guidance on investing into African borne innovations. In turn, ABAN seeks to further build the industry and improve the climate for startup entrepreneurs.
ABAN began as a consortium of independent investor networks including the Lagos Angels Network (LAN), Cameroon Angel Network (CAN), Ghana Angel Network (GAIN), Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa), Silicon Cape and supported by the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), the LIONS Africa Partnership and DEMO Africa. In the interest to connect these African networks, support new investors and new networks, to maximize their impact and to connect African investors to their global counterparts, the need was established to form a pan-African association of angel investor networks and other early stage investors: ABAN.
Savannah Energy is a United Kingdom-based oil and gas company primarily focused on energy production in Nigeria, where it holds a controlling interest in the Accugas midstream business. This segment supplies gas to power stations that contribute over 20% of Nigeria's power generation capacity. Savannah Energy also operates gas transportation and distribution systems across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to its activities in Nigeria, the company is actively engaged in exploring and developing its flagship assets in the Agadem Rift Basin in Niger, with plans to achieve first oil production in the near future. The company's operations extend across Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger, with the majority of its revenue generated from Nigeria.
IHS Towers is an independent owner, operator and developer of shared telecommunications infrastructure, focused on towers, that serves mobile network operators delivering wireless voice and data services in emerging markets. It owns and operates more than 40,000 towers across markets in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, including Nigeria, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt and South Africa, among others. The company’s geographic footprint encompasses Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America, with the majority of revenue generated in Nigeria.
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral organization that operates under the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. With an authorized capital of $2.0 billion, it aims to support economic development in its member countries by financing private sector projects that adhere to Shari’a law. ICD focuses on initiatives that create employment opportunities and enhance export capabilities. In addition to providing direct financing, ICD also mobilizes further resources for projects and promotes the growth of Islamic financing and capital markets, thereby fostering a sustainable economic environment in its member states.
Founded in 2017, Distributed Capital Partners is a venture capital firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It focuses on investing in early-stage companies involved in blockchain technology and distributed software.
Founded in 2016, Republic is a global equity crowdfunding platform headquartered in New York City. It provides access to startup, real estate, crypto, and gaming investments for over one million members worldwide, facilitating over $500 million in investments. Backed by prominent investors, Republic aims to create a diverse, sustainable, and connected world.
Sunsino Venture Group is a venture capital firm based in Taipei, Taiwan, founded in 1994. The firm has invested in over 200 companies across Taiwan and the United States, focusing primarily on the healthcare, technology, and software sectors. With approximately US$150 million in assets under management, Sunsino Venture Group aims to support innovative companies that demonstrate growth potential in these industries.
Founded in 2002 by Patrice Hoppenot, Investisseurs & Partenaires is a pioneering impact investment group dedicated to African Small and Medium Enterprises. Headquartered in Paris with offices across Africa, the firm invests in companies creating local value and long-term employment, focusing on sectors like health, transport, microfinance, and other ventures. Since inception, I&P has invested in over 90 companies across 16 countries, managing four pan-African funds totaling €135 million.
Launch Africa Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2020 and based in Ebene, Mauritius, that funds early-stage startups across Africa, focusing on seed and pre-Series A opportunities. It seeks investments across fintech, healthtech, climate tech, agritech, edtech, transportation and logistics, mobility, e-commerce, software as a service, artificial intelligence, big data, and analytics.
Oxford Capital Partners, established in 1999, is a London and Oxford-based venture capital firm specialising in early-stage technology investments. The company focuses on backing high-potential start-ups in sectors such as mobility, fintech, insurtech, retail, digital marketplaces, digital health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, with a diversified portfolio approach.
The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), established in 1985, is a multilateral development financial institution with assets exceeding US$ 5 billion. Its mandate focuses on financing trade, promoting regional economic integration, and supporting sustainable development through various services, including trade finance, project and infrastructure finance, asset management, and business advisory services. Over the past five years, TDB has expanded its shareholder base from 19 to 35 members, which includes 22 Member States from the COMESA, EAC, and SADC regions, alongside 2 non-African countries and 11 institutional investors. During this period, the bank has seen a significant increase in shareholder equity funds by 150% and annual net profits by 100%, while successfully halving its non-performing loans. TDB operates regional offices in Nairobi, Harare, and Addis Ababa, with principal offices located in Bujumbura and Port-Louis.
Founded in 2017 and based in Tokyo, Femto Partners is a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage startups in Japan. It provides strategic guidance, helps assemble ideal teams, grows customer bases, and attracts new investors to nurture and advance startups poised to revolutionize industries.
Janngo is a venture capital firm and startup studio founded in 2018, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with an additional office in Paris, France. The firm specializes in investing in small and medium enterprises across various stages, including seed, startup, and growth capital. Janngo focuses on the digital ecosystem sector and aims to support entrepreneurs who utilize technology to deliver essential services and products to African consumers, accelerate the growth of African SMEs, and create jobs, particularly for women and youth. The firm targets investments in sectors such as fashion, agriculture, media, education, finance, technology, and healthcare, with a strong preference for companies based in Africa.
FasterCapital is an online incubator, accelerator, and venture builder based in Dubai that supports startups and small businesses worldwide. It provides equity-based services, including technical development and business development, and assists ventures seeking funding from angels and venture capitalists. Founded in 2010, FasterCapital engages in a broad range of technology-driven sectors such as fintech, edtech, health tech, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and related fields.
Exor is a Dutch holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, with a diversified portfolio spanning automotive, real estate, and finance sectors. Known for its long-term approach, Exor actively manages investments to create value for shareholders while fostering opportunities for talent growth and societal contributions.
OurCrowd, established in 2013, is a global venture investing platform headquartered in Israel. It specializes in connecting accredited investors with curated, high-quality early-stage companies across various sectors, including healthcare, technology, energy, and transportation. OurCrowd invests in and supports its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycle, providing mentorship, industry connections, and follow-on funding opportunities. It is the most active venture investor in Israel and has a strong presence in the United States and other global markets.
Founded in 1987, Canaan Partners is a global venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. With over $5 billion under management, the firm invests in early-stage technology and healthcare companies worldwide.
Founded in 2011, Slow Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm. It invests in innovative companies operating at the intersection of technology, science, society, and culture across various sectors such as software, biotechnology, e-commerce, fintech, and more.
Breyer Capital is a global venture capital and private equity investor founded by Jim Breyer in 2006. The firm pursues long-term, strategic investments in technology-enabled sectors, focusing on social media, digital health, financial technology, media and entertainment, consumer software, and related areas such as quantum technologies, artificial intelligence in health, enterprise data, security, and climate. It partners with early-stage startups, fast-growing companies, and established corporations to frame strategic opportunities, drawing on founder passion and a broad network of investors. The firm seeks to leverage advances in AI, machine learning, and immersive technologies to identify opportunities across the United States, China, and other markets, aiming to back companies with global growth potential.
Founded in 2015, GreenTec Capital Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in impact investing. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, with additional offices in Africa and Europe, the company focuses on investing in early-stage startups and small to medium-sized enterprises across sectors such as agriculture, technology, sustainable resources, digitalization, energy, healthcare, and water. The firm prefers companies based in Africa and aims to create exclusive investment opportunities with economic, social, and/or environmental impact.
Founded in 1996, Albion Capital is a UK-based venture capital firm investing £2-5m for minority stakes in early-stage companies. They focus on digital B2B companies across sectors like enterprise software, technology services, digital health, cybersecurity, martech, and fintech, with a preference for companies benefiting from macro trends such as disruption and digital transformation.
Founded in 2014, Expert DOJO is a venture capital firm based in Santa Monica, California. It specializes in early-stage startup acceleration and investment, focusing on visionary companies with high growth potential. Since its inception, it has invested in over 260 startups globally, providing an average of $50,000 initially, with follow-on investments up to $1 million for exceptional performers.
Founded in 2010, TSVC is a venture capital firm headquartered in Los Altos, California. It specializes in early-stage investments in deep technology startups across sectors such as software as a service, artificial intelligence, financial technology, biotechnology, blockchain, and semiconductors.
Founded in Tokyo in 1998, Global Brain is a venture capital firm focusing on seed to late-stage investments across various sectors globally. They have invested in over 300 startups, facilitating 25 IPOs and 61 M&As through hands-on support services.
Founded in 2000, Emerging Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing across Africa. With offices in key African cities and Paris, the firm manages over $2 billion for investments in various sectors such as telecommunications, financial services, infrastructure, consumer goods, and logistics.
Founded in 2015, FJ Labs is a New York-based venture capital firm focusing on stage-agnostic investments in marketplaces and consumer-facing startups. Their investment range varies from $50,000 to $5,000,000, typically at seed or series A stages.
Founded in 2005, Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that invests across various sectors and stages. Known for embracing risk, the firm supports founders of exceptional products to achieve success on their own terms. Notable investments include Twitter, Discord, Cruise, Niantic, Oculus, Warby Parker, and Tumblr.
Unbound is an innovative online publishing platform that enables authors to pitch book ideas directly to readers. If a project gains sufficient support, Unbound facilitates the editing, typesetting, printing, and distribution of the book, crediting all supporters.
Founded in Dubai in 2014, Wamda Capital is a leading venture capital firm investing in high-growth technology startups across the MENA region. It provides multi-stage funding, from seed to growth stages, aiming to support portfolio companies until exit.
Founded in 2019, Flourish Ventures is a global venture capital firm based in San Francisco. It invests in early-stage companies focused on fintech, insurtech, regtech, and other sectors that advance financial health and prosperity for individuals and small businesses. The firm manages $850M in patient capital, deploying it with a long-term perspective across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States.
Established in Milan, Italy in 2007, DVR Capital specializes in M&A advisory services. It also offers private equity solutions, co-investing alongside funds and acquiring minority stakes in companies.
Proximity Capital is a venture capital firm established in 2014 and located in Milan, Italy. The firm focuses on investing in business-to-business software startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, primarily targeting companies based in Italy and Europe. Proximity Capital aims to support visionary entrepreneurs who are committed to innovation and transformative change, fostering meaningful connections with exceptional founders. Through its investments, the firm seeks to empower these entrepreneurs to build impactful companies that can reshape industries and contribute positively to society.
African Capital Alliance is a private equity firm founded in 1997, with its headquarters in Port-Louis, Mauritius, and an additional office in Lagos, Nigeria. The firm specializes in growth capital and equity investments, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors, including oil and gas, media, healthcare, energy, technology, telecommunications, and agriculture. African Capital Alliance focuses primarily on middle-market companies in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, while also exploring opportunities in other Sub-Saharan African nations. The firm aims to support growth companies and turnaround situations, often making control investments ranging from $1 million to $60 million, with significant minority and majority rights. Through its subsidiaries, African Capital Alliance offers private equity, asset management, and real estate management services, positioning itself as an impactful player in the African investment landscape.
CVC Capital Partners is a global private equity and investment advisory firm that manages private equity, asset, credit and infrastructure investments. Founded in 1981 as Citicorp Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Citigroup, the firm expanded across Europe and later into the Americas and Asia, building a multinational platform with offices and professionals across major markets. It seeks to invest across a wide range of sectors including building and construction, business services, chemicals, consumer and retail, energy and utilities, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, sports, media and entertainment, technology, and transport and infrastructure.
Seedstars is an accelerator and investment firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 2012. It supports startups in emerging and frontier markets across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia, backing ventures that address financial services, healthcare, education, and commerce through accelerator programs and early-stage investments.
Monex Ventures is a venture capital firm located in Tokyo, Japan, established in 2005. The firm specializes in financing seed and early-stage investments in startup companies, focusing on sectors such as business products and services, consumer products and services, and technology. Through its investments, Monex Ventures aims to support innovative entrepreneurs and contribute to the growth of emerging businesses in these dynamic markets.
GMO Venture Partners, established in 2005 and based in Tokyo, Japan, is the corporate venture capital arm of GMO Internet Group. It focuses on early and growth stage investments in sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, financial services, ad-tech, and enterprise SaaS. The firm has a significant presence in various regions, including Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and the United States. Over the years, GMO Venture Partners has invested in more than 50 startups, with eight of these companies successfully going public.
MSIVC is a venture capital firm that invests in Japanese and global startups scaling to IPO. It focuses on startups in verticals of Fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, AI, E-Commerce, Foodtech, and Environment etc.
LBO France is an independent private equity firm based in Paris, founded in 1985. It specializes in leveraged buyouts in the middle market and small-cap segment, as well as real estate and secondary debt, and it targets investments in French companies or firms with management in France. The firm seeks majority stakes in subsidiaries of larger groups or family-owned businesses across sectors such as energy infrastructure, healthcare, media, retail, real estate, agriculture, and related manufacturing and services. It can invest using equity notes or convertible bonds and pursues a balance of business-to-business and business-to-consumer opportunities. Investments typically aim for exits within three to seven years. LBO France emphasizes active governance, often taking supervisory board seats on portfolio companies.
LoftyInc Capital is a venture capital firm based in Victoria Island, Lagos, focused on Africa's growth enterprises. Over the past decade it has invested over $25 million in more than 150 companies, including several unicorns, and attracted over $1.5 billion in follow-on funding to its portfolio. It has built an ecosystem of tech hubs, angel networks, and talent platforms to support portfolio companies. The firm has achieved multiple exits and delivered strong returns across its Afropreneurs funds.
Graph Ventures is a San Francisco based venture capital firm that concentrates on seed and early-stage technology investments. The firm backs startups across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, with a portfolio spanning consumer and enterprise software, platforms, and hardware. Notable investments include BetterUp, Hinge, PicsArt, Moon Express, Saildrone, Quinto Andar, Lingokids, and Houseparty, among others. Graph Ventures emphasizes early-stage opportunities with a global reach and aims to support founders through strategic guidance and capital from its base in San Francisco.
Banca Generali is a prominent banking group headquartered in Trieste, Italy, specializing in asset management and financial planning. Established in 1998, the bank offers a comprehensive range of investment solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of its clients. To effectively serve its customer base, Banca Generali has developed two distinct distribution networks: Banca Generali and Banca Generali Private Banking. The firm is also engaged in providing debt financing to small and medium-sized enterprises, further diversifying its financial services and reinforcing its commitment to supporting the growth of businesses in various sectors.
Edge Labs is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm established in 2016 that invests in technology-focused startups and provides support for intellectual property-enabled businesses, helping portfolio companies develop, protect and monetize IP while managing investments and related assets as part of its partnership approach.
Investment Lab is a venture capital firm based in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2020. The firm focuses on addressing social issues within the country by investing in Japanese companies that provide innovative solutions. By targeting businesses that aim to create positive societal impact, Investment Lab plays a role in fostering sustainable development and enhancing the well-being of communities in Japan. Through its investments, the firm seeks to support and scale ventures that contribute to meaningful change.
Public Investment Corporation is a government-owned investment management company based in Pretoria, South Africa, focused on managing investments for the public sector. It serves pension funds and other nationally critical funds, including the Government Employees Pension Fund and various social security, development, and guardian funds. The firm uses a mix of internal and external fund managers to deploy capital and is governed by a board of directors. While owned by the government, it operates in a manner comparable with private-sector asset managers and is one of the largest investment managers in Africa.
Founded in 2010, EIT InnoEnergy is a leading European innovation engine focused on Sustainable Energy. It invests in early-stage climate tech and energy companies across Europe and the US, providing equity minority investments and added value services to de-risk projects.
Founded in 2019, Crossbeam Venture Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology startups focused on FinTech and Internet Economies.
Blue Collective is a Brooklyn-based investment firm that conducts venture capital and private equity activities. It funds technology-driven startups and growth-stage companies across pre-seed to late-stage rounds, with a focus on early potential and scalable business models. The portfolio spans sectors including B2B software, enterprise technology, hardware, consumer products, biotech and life sciences, and business services. The firm primarily targets opportunities in the United States, with select investments across North America and other regions as appropriate. By providing capital and strategic support, Blue Collective aims to partner with exceptional founders to accelerate product development, go-to-market plans, and growth trajectories.