LoftyInc Capital Management, an early-stage African-focused Venture Capital firm, has announced the final close of its third fund – LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 (LAF3) at $14.2 million.
The fund which was launched in August 2021 was closed in Q1 2022 and was oversubscribed by 40%. The fund was raised in eight months from limited partners from its second fund, including FBNQuest Funds, syndicates from The Green Investment Club, HNIs from multinationals like Google, Facebook and ExxonMobil; and Andela CEO Jeremy Johnson.
With the LAF3, LoftyInc Capital will invest in Seed-to-Series A technology-enabled companies founded by African entrepreneurs. The VC will significantly deepen its focus on investing in the most promising early to growth-stage startups improving African lives with disruptive tech-enabled products and services.
LoftyInc Capital through LAF3 has already invested in 52 companies across the continent in fintech, e-commerce, media, logistics, and healthcare sectors. The fund is pan-African, with a particular focus on the hyper-growth tech ecosystems in Nigeria and Egypt.
Since 2011, LoftyInc has had over 160 investments and 6 exits. African payments startup, Flutterwave serves as LoftyInc’s first exit. According to Managing Partner, Idris Ayo Bello, it returned to LPs three times their investments, which led to the launch of LAF3.
According to Ed Zimmerman, co-founder of First Close Partners, “As serial investors in both African startups and venture funds on the continent, we kept seeing and hearing about Idris Bello and LoftyInc.
“More than a highly respected and connected entrepreneur and investor, we understood that LoftyInc was deeply enmeshed in the flow of the best deals on the continent and had a strong team with conviction and insights that convinced us at First Close Partners that LoftyInc would be an important part of our fund portfolio. We are proud to be LPs, especially given our deep conviction in the investment thesis for Africa-based VC and startups, some of which we published in Forbes in 2019.”
“FBNQuest Funds Ltd is pleased to invest with LoftyInc Capital Management in the 3rd edition of its pan-African technology venture capital fund (LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3).
“FBNQuest Funds has backed LoftyInc based on its solid track record in venture capital investing and its drive to democratize venture capital investing in Nigeria and beyond. We believe that LoftyInc is well-positioned to deliver on our shared objective to provide capital, the required operational support, and international partnerships to African technology startups,” Christian Ekpo, Vice President at FBNQuest Funds, said.
“The close is significant in that it brought together an array of investor types including young African operators and founders, African HNWIs and African financial institutions. It is the next rung in our task of building an ecosystem of investors backing founders of African descent building companies that make a difference globally,” Idris Ayodeji Bello, Founding Partner of LoftyInc Capital Management, said.
