E4E Africa, a venture capital fund based in South Africa focused on entrepreneurs, has announced the initial closing of its US$30 million E4E Africa Fund II.
This fund was set up in July 2020, backed by the SA SME Fund, and E4E Africa has since made 11 investments from its initial fund. This includes insurtech startup Pineapple, home-services platform SweepSouth, and digital marketplace Qwili.
E4E Africa primarily invests in top-tier entrepreneurial teams that build scalable and influential businesses across key sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular interest in fintech, education and job tech, digital health, and energy solutions. The fund’s emphasis is on backing founders and adding value through its network of seasoned entrepreneurs.
E4E Africa’s second fund aims to raise a total of US$30 million and has now achieved its first close. The firm is now actively courting more investors, both locally and internationally, in order to grow its influence and reach.
“Our strong relationships with founders and seasoned African entrepreneurs has led to a surge in outstanding investment opportunities,” said Bas Hochstenbach, managing partner at E4E Africa. “This first close enables us to back the exceptional founders we see before us.”
E4E Africa Fund II has already made investments in three businesses – Kwara, a Kenyan company that provides core banking platforms, TUNL, a South African firm offering tech-enabled export shipping services, and a rapidly expanding company in Kenya that’s innovating the traditional embedded finance sector.
“We are thrilled with the performance of our Fund II portfolio so far,” said Bakang Komanyane, principal at E4E Africa. “Our Fund II portfolio companies are thriving, and we are excited to announce a follow-on investment in the coming weeks.”
