The Future Africa fund, launched in 2020 by Andela and Flutterwave co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, invested US$4.3 million into 43 companies in 2021, taking its total assets under management (AUM) to US$30 million.
Disrupt Africa reported in January 2020 Aboyeji had launched Future Africa alongside Olabinjo Adeniran and Adenike Sheriff.
The initial aim was to build an online community to facilitate conversations about Africa’s future, but the team soon realised more was necessary, and started a process of evolution. The key plank of this is the Future Africa fund, which was opened to co-investors in April 2020.
That community of angel investors – the Future Africa Collective – has grown to 257 members as of the close of 2021, with the fund investing US$4.3 million into 43 companies last year. They were active across a broad range of industries, from education to healthcare to media, though more than half of the investments were in the financial services space.
The fund’s portfolio is now 75-strong, with key 2021 investments including Stitch, Lami, mDaas Global, Payhippo, MarketForce, Edves and Kwara. AUM hit US$30 million, up from US$600,000 in 2017. Its portfolio companies raised over US$290 million in follow-on funding in 2021.
“In furtherance of our pan-African drive, we expanded our geographical reach and made our investment debuts in Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia in 2021. Through these investments, Future Africa’s presence is now in six African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya,” Aboyeji said.
“At the start of 2021, we committed to ensuring that at least US$1 million of our capital would go to female innovators. We delivered on this, investing over US$2 million in companies with female founders. In total, we have 152 founders in our network, and one in three of our portfolio companies have a female co-founder, including Lami, Kwara, and Knabu, led by female CEOs.”
He said Future Africa was gearing up for an “even more phenomenal 2022” after a “transformative” 2021.
“By all indicators, 2022 is the year of scaling impact by continuing to identify, fund and support founders that are doing the hard things and providing solutions to Africa’s most difficult problems and, as a result, shaping the continent’s future,” said Aboyeji.
