Early-stage investor Antler has closed its oversubscribed East Africa investment fund at $13.5 million, seeking to continue to support early-stage tech startups in the region.
The oversubscribed round — the firm intended to raise $10 million — has Limited Partners that include Baillie Gifford, a well-known Tesla backer; family offices such as Canica; and institutional investors like the IFC.
The firm, which invests from pre-seed to Series C, has cut checks in more than 250 companies from its $300 million fund.
For existing startups, two to six weeks is all that’s needed for Antler East Africa to work with the team before the firm cuts a check. Antler East Africa says it will invest up to $100,000 in these startups at a “mutually agreed valuation.” It plans to make 35 new investments from pre-seed to Series A over the next three years.
There’s also an arrangement for the firm to follow up on some rounds all the way to Series C.
Antler East Africa’s first venture building cohort was launched in August 2019, and to date the company has run five full cohorts totaling 153 founders, and made 14 investments. Starting this month, Antler is embarking on a new, community-driven platform approach where it will accept founders and teams on a rolling basis.
To date, the company has invested in more than 400 companies in over 30 industries.
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