Morocco-based Outlierz Ventures, an early-stage VC fund backed by private investors from Silicon Valley, Middle East and Africa has made investments in five fast growing tech-enabled companies. The investment is focused on startups that solve fundamental problems across fintech, insurtech, agritech, healthtech and logistics industries in Africa.
Launched in 2017, Outlierz Ventures is an early-stage VC fund backed by private investors from Silicon Valley, the Middle East and Africa. The fund focuses primarily on Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, but plans to explore untapped Francophone and other West African ecosystems. Investment ranges between $50,000 and $500,000 in seed stage and pre-series A companies, and Outlierz also helps the companies scale into new markets by leveraging its network of private investors and large Moroccan industry leaders.
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Outlierz started its investment activity in 2018, and has made five investments in fast-growing tech-enabled companies across five different markets. These investments were in Moroccan B2B marketplace WaystoCap, Kenyan consumer goods retail value chain solution Sokowatch, pan-African industry data platform Asoko Insight, French last-mile delivery startup TousFacteurs, and Egyptian B2B commerce marketplace MaxAB.
The Outlierz team reviewed over 1,000 investment opportunities and engaged in conversations with more than 350 entrepreneurs. “We see tremendous opportunities at the intersection of technology, Africa’s young and fast growing population, its economies. Our mission is to back extraordinary founders that leverage technology to transform African traditional economies,” said Kenza Lahlou, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Outlierz Ventures.
“We are excited about the opportunities created by the tech revolution for the African continent, both in terms of economic value creation and in terms of accelerating the continent’s development. Africa is definitely the next frontier to VC investments and we are eager to contribute to proving it,” added Ali Bensouda, Co-founder and General Partner at Outlierz Ventures.
Some of the top investors backing Outlierz Ventures include Michael Seibel, CEO of YCombinator, 500 startup’s Hicham Oudghiri, Joel Sibrac, former President of the BMCI bank in Morocco, and Bank of the West in San Francisco, part of BNP Paribas Group.
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