Africa-focused venture capital Verod-Kepple, has raised $43 million for its fund targeting startups in the continent.

The fund, named Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) is the first fund set up by Verod-Kepple Africa Partners, which is a joint venture between Verod Capital Management Ltd and Kepple Africa Ventures. The fund’s initial investors include SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial group, and Toyota Tsusho Corp, the trading company that’s partly owned by Toyota Motor Corp, according to a statement on March 20.

VKAV’s annoucement came on the back of a resilient 2022 in the African tech-ecosystem, where the interest in venture capital grew in Africa by 8% despite a global economic slowdown, it said.

The fund is committed to achieving social impact by backing entrepreneurs working hard to solve the continent’s issues, while supporting collaboration between African startups and Japanese strategic partners, the statement said.

VKAV, launched in 2022, has invested in startups including Moove Africa (smart vehicle finance for mobility entrepreneurs), NowPay (Egypt’s financial wellness for employees), Koko Networks (Kenya’s clean cooking technology firm), Ceviant (Nigeria’s treasury management and trade finance), Chari (Morocco’s B2B e-Commerce servicer), Shuttlers (Nigeria’s shared mobility), Nawy (Egyptian end-to-end platform powering property transactions) and Julaya (Francophone West African’s neobank for businesses in Africa).

“We are convinced that there is a tremendous opportunity for technology to drive innovation and growth in Africa,” VKAV partner Satoshi Shinada said in the statement.

Confidence in Africa

Ory Okolloh, another VKAV partner said the funding shows “the confidence that our world-class set of investors have in our team and differentiated value creation strategy.”

Eric Idiahi, Investment Committee and Portfolio Review Committee Member at VKAV and Partner at Verod Capital commented said Verod has a “strong performance track record investing in West Africa for 15 years” and has a “history of returning capital to investors, provides a solid platform to showcase a unique model for venture capital in Africa that combines investment experience with hands-on support.”

VKAV says it strives to make meaningful social impact by backing innovators who lead in solving Africa’s challenges.

The funding round was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB). “We consider it as a critical step for us as a development development agency to integrate technology innovations and its fast-growing ecosystems into the broader arena of social and economic development in developing countries,” said JICA’s Senior Vice President Keiichiro Nakazawa.

Yasushi Anashige, Executive Manager and General Manager, Impact Equity Investment Department at SMTB believes the funds will help to make “significant successes not only in making financial returns but also bringing Japanese corporates to Africa.”

VKAV says its work has impacted over 800,000 lives across nine countries, six of which are in Africa, and created more than 2,000 jobs.