If you have not heard the name Olumide Soyombo, you may be hearing it with increasing regulatory when it comes to the African startups space. This as the former angel investor has co-founded a new fund with Abe Choi called Voltron Capital.
According to TechCrunch, the newly created fund is focused heavily on startups in the African space and has already helped an estimated 30 startups with funding. These organisations are spread across Nigeria, where Soyombo focused intensely beforehand, along with South Africa, Kenya and other parts of North Africa.
The startups are said to have received pre-seed and seed-stage funding ranging from $20 000 to $100 000, with Voltron Capital described as wanting to, “address the severe lack of access to early-stage funding for African tech companies.”
This follows the same sort of investing strategy that Soyombo adopted in 2014, with the likes of PayStack, PiggyVest and TeamApt among the 33 startups that he has had an impact on over the better part of a decade.
While talking to TechCrunch, he adds that Voltron Capital is not necessarily focused on a sector, but will rather look at the people behind it.
“I’m going to continue backing interesting entrepreneurs. If Odunayo of PiggyVest was building a healthtech or edtech company, I’ll still back that company,” says Soyombo. “So I think the investability of sectors, for me, is driven by quality entrepreneurs that are going to solve problems in that area,” he adds.
Soyombo also notes that he is looking to take startups as far as possible, reaching beyong the scope of the Africa continent, with his co-founder Abe, who is based in the United States, playing a crucial role in this regard.
“We want the next wave of African tech success stories to not only make an impact on the continent but to be truly global; through Abe’s strategic connections to the USA, we’re confident we can provide our portfolio with the best possible opportunities to achieve this through our US and global network,” concludes Soyombo.
African startups looking for funding are encouraged to connect with Voltron Capital at the fund’s website here.
[Source – TechCrunch]
[Image – Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash]
