The Africa Founders Ventures (AFV) — which operates as “54 Collective,” is set to wind down its venture studio operations, likely resulting in widespread layoffs.
- •The decision follows the announcement that 54 Collective’s partnership with the Mastercard Foundation will end in April.
- •Employees were informed last week that the company will be launching a redundancy consultation process, pending further discussions with the Mastercard Foundation.
- •The partnership with MasterCard Foundation, valued at over US$110mn, has been pivotal to the venture studio’s development and the firm’s turnaround since its onset in 2023.
Since its inception, the firm’s efforts have supported more than 40 startups, created over 17,500 direct and indirect jobs, and provided 600 grants to small businesses. It is a prolific investor in a region that is still recovering from a funding winter which has seen startups across the continent struggle to get investment and business development support.
Before rebranding in August last year, 54 Collective was called Founders Factory Africa. At the time, it said it is evolving from an accelerator to a full-fledged Venture Capital (VC) firm with 70 specialists and higher capital injections for startups.
The move marks a significant shift for the firm, which has been instrumental in fostering African entrepreneurship through its Venture Studio, Gen F, and Entrepreneur Academy initiatives.
The firm’s AFV’s investment arm, UAF1 (also operating as “54 Collective” Fund), will remain active, continuing to back and support startups within its ecosystem. However, the loss of the venture studio could leave a void in Africa’s early-stage startup landscape.
VC firms pumped more than US $1billion in African fintechs in 2024, churning out the two newest unicorns on the continent. The entire continent raised US$2.2 billion in 2024, which was 25% less than the amount startups raised in 2023. This was largely due to the financial crunch prevalent in the first half of 2024 as many countries globally tried to claw back to macroeconomic stability.
