Ventures Platform closes $84M Fund II, backs Nigerian startups with bigger checks

Ventures Platform has closed its second institutional fund at $84 million, completing a fundraising that began with a $64M first close in November 2025. The fund is 1.8x the size of its first $46M fund from December 2022. The VP Pan-African Fund II adds four new institutional backers: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Norfund (Norway's development finance), Dutch family office Alphatron, and Ashesi University Foundation, alongside existing LPs including Nigeria's iDICE programme, IFC, Standard Bank, and British International Investment from the initial close.

The fund will write larger checks—averaging $1.5 million with a maximum of $3 million—for 10% to 12% ownership stakes in pre-seed to pre-Series A startups across Africa. This marks a shift from their first fund's approach, targeting deeper conviction through bigger initial investments and reserve capital to double down on winners. Ventures Platform relies heavily on secondary sales for liquidity, noting that 73% of African venture exits happen via acquisitions, not IPOs.

To manage currency risks in markets like Nigeria, the firm uses three strategies: geographic diversification (with team members in Abidjan for Francophone West Africa and Cairo), setting high growth bars that outpace devaluation and inflation, and seeking businesses with natural foreign-exchange revenue streams. Founder Kola Aina emphasizes that ownership percentage is critical for returns, as small stakes yield little in secondary sales.

For Nigerian entrepreneurs, this means access to larger early-stage capital but with expectations of significant equity stakes. The fund's confidence—bolstered by sovereign backing from iDICE—signals growing institutional trust in Africa's tech ecosystem despite perceived risks. With Ventures Platform targeting 10-12% ownership and averaging $1.5M checks, how should founders weigh substantial early capital against dilution when considering deep-conviction investors?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/08/26/ventures-platform-second-fund/