More and more investors are skydiving into the African technology landscape with ventures aimed at bankrolling innovative early stage startups. Experts expect lack of funding as a barrier to innovative apps, as frequently named by African techies, to reduce significantly.
The latest entrant is EchoVC Partners with US$30 million worth of funding dangled over Africa’s early stage startups.
EchoVC Partners is run by Eghosa Omoigui, General Partner, Shadi Mehraein, Associate Partner and Amber Fowler, Associate Partner and Chief of Staff.
Reports from Silicon Valley Africa suggest the early-stage private equity investment fund, EchoVC Partners has been touring Africa and has since met some startups in Lagos, Nigeria. At the moment however, the firm has no African startup on its portfolio.
Eghosa Omoigui is a Silicon Valley-based technology-focused investor and founding Managing Partner of EchoVC Partners, according to the firm’s portfolio EchoVC Partners has invested in.
The Nigerian-born Omoigui has invested in firms such as Stipple, Retailigence, Namesake, SpeakerText, Sense Networks, Voxify, SmartZip, Yatra, BuzzInTown, Cerebra and have stock in intent, Sharespost, Sugarsync, Rubicon and Bit.ly.
Omoigui will invest the US$30 million in tech startups in Africa focusing on consumer Internet and services, Mobile, digital media, content and advertising, software, services and infrastructure, according to Silcon Valley Africa.
From the report, Omoigui recently toured Lagos Nigeria to identify viable start-ups, from where he met nearly 40 startups to which he is yet to invest in.
His investment firm was founded after 10 years at Intel Capital as Director where Toby Ruckert says he was one of the most influential investors before he left to form his own VC company.
He is said to have driven Intel Capital (the largest global tech corporate VC) into smart data, next generation semantic technologies, and the realtime web. He was instrumental for sourcing investment for firms like AdMob, Jaiku, Powerset, Facebook, LinkedIn, Teracent and Pandora.
Africa has been of late vibrant with venture firms and accelerator developing tech entrepreneurship on the continent. EchoVC Partners is not the only one looking for talent.
The NextWeb’s partnership program Startup World has also come calling to entrepreneurs in Africa with events laid out in Cape Town, Nairobi, Kigali and Dar es Salaam this September with over $ 300,000 spread out for viable tech startups.
A majority of others although not in entirely, are listed as below:
Savannah Fund, also based in Kenya is set to invest over $ 25,000 to $ 500,000 in startups in Africa in September just as Growth Hub’s Village Capital will inject $50,000 in startups in Kenya later this year. The World Bank is also making headways in the ICT funding line.
The NextWeb’s follows 88mph’s opening of more than million per startup.The 88mph accelerator program is beginning early September.
There is also MEST, Umbono, Intel Capital, Accion with a $ 10 million seed fund for East Africa, EvaFund, Invested Development, Sanaga Ventures, Angeles Ventures, Mara Launch Fund and Village Capital and the recent launch of Technology Innovation Agency in South Africa to invest over $30,000.
Nigeria’s government has also laid plans to launch a $15 million ICT investment fund while Kenya’s government gives ICT Grants to top startups through the Kenya ICT board.
The proliferation of VC firms in Africa is suggestive of the growing app innovation scene in Africa.
