Enza Capital, an African-based venture capital firm, has successfully closed a significant amount of $58m spread across two investment funds.
The dynamic venture capital firm announced it had secured an impressive $58m, pooling these funds from an assortment of investors ranging from private individuals, family offices, and foundations, to fund of funds, hedge funds, and other venture capital funds.
Established to revolutionise the startup ecosystem in Africa, Enza Capital’s mission revolves around identifying and supporting category-defining startups in their early stages, primarily those in pre-seed and seed phases.
From FinTech to logistics and from health to climate tech, the firm’s investment focus spans a wide range of industries. Following its recent successes, Enza now considers itself a multi-stage investor, due to its propensity for larger follow-on investments up to Series B.
While not directly stated, the firm’s ongoing activities and strategies suggest that this fresh capital will further boost its investments in groundbreaking African startups, with a keen emphasis on sustaining its multi-stage investment approach. Furthermore, the introduction of the founder partner programme demonstrates an innovative use of its resources to foster deeper relationships with startup founders.
The Nairobi-headquartered firm has previously made strategic investments, such as backing the Kenyan climate tech startup Guidewheel and the FinTech enterprise, Shara. Notably, Guidewheel has since expanded its operations to the U.S. and Mexico.
Enza Capital co-founder and managing partner Mike Mompi said, “We have sufficient capital to write meaningful checks. Sometimes, we’re going in early and also follow-on in our companies. Then we have the growth fund, which is mostly a later-stage vehicle, where we can invest at any stage and co-invest with the core funds in existing portfolio companies, thereby staying with our companies for a long time.”
General partner John Lazar added, “The founder partner programme fosters alignment and collaboration, and it increases the likelihood of success across all stakeholders in the venture capital structure, ranging from LPs and investors to management teams, and extending to the ultimate beneficiaries of the products or services developed by these enterprises. We truly believe in shared ownership, and we can empathise with leadership teams.”
Back in 2019, Enza Capital embarked on a mission with its early-stage fund, striving to identify, back, and nurture category-defining startups. Since then, the firm has broadened its horizons and continued its financial backing of various startups across numerous industries.
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