LoftyInc Capital, a pan-African venture capital firm, announced today the launch of its third fund, LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3, with a $10 million investment target for African tech startups.
The firm has completed its first $5.5 million close. Limited partners in the vehicle include, among others, those from its second fund, FBNQuest Funds, syndicates from The Green Investment Club, HNIs from multinationals such as Google, Facebook, and ExxonMobil, and Andela CEO Jeremy Johnson.
LoftyInc manages three funds at the same time. The second fund, its first formal venture capital fund, is primarily focused on Nigeria. This third fund, on the other hand, adheres to the thesis of LoftyInc’s first fund: investing in startups across various markets and sectors in Africa and the diaspora.
The company has made investments in Afrikrea and Star News Mobile in Francophone Africa. Then, in West Africa, Omnibiz, RXAll, Sudo Africa, Tech Advance, Aladdin, Flex Finance, Star Kitchens Group, and EPump.
In North Africa, LoftyInc’s portfolio includes Odiggo, Illa, Tagaddod, and Instadiet. LoftyInc’s portfolio in South Africa includes Akiba Digital, Beamm, and Zazu Africa, while Cashback and Dash are the startups funded in East Africa. LoftyInc also owns a stake in OjaExpress and FitMatch.
LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 1 was launched in 2012 as the firm’s pre-seed stage investment vehicle. The fund functions more like a syndicate or an angel group, with investors including senior executives from key industries throughout Africa.
LoftyInc has given checks to over 20 startups since it began raising funds for the fund. They operate in a variety of industries, including e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, logistics, and media, in both African and non-African regions.