Self-acclaimed ‘first African social startup studio’ Janngo has launched the Janngo Capital Startup Fund.
The Janngo Capital Fund which is endowed with Eur 60 million will be committed to boosting the financial capacity of tech-enabled startup accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.
The venture fund comes with a support investment of EUR 15 Mn (USD 16.6 Mn) from the European Investment Bank (EIB); the world’s largest multilateral financial institution and the biggest provider of climate finance.
Janngo was founded by Fatoumata BA in 2018 and it is focused on developing, nurturing and investing in pan-African digital champions with proven business models and inclusive social impact.
The venture fund develops ecosystems in high-growth sectors by providing business support and digital platforms allowing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale and contribute to the economic empowerment of youth and women through job creation and capacity building.
Janngo on the eve of the 50th World Economic Forum also pledged EUR 60 Mn to support technology startups with a double bottom line approach through its dedicated investment vehicle, Janngo Capital Startup Fund.
It is the first kind of venture capital and Impact vehicle investing from seed through growth stage across Africa and targeting at least 50 percent of startups founded, co-founded or benefiting women.
According to Weetrackers, this initiative is part of Janngo’s broader commitment to financing the SDGs in Africa, as a member of the Goalkeepers Community and the Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda of the World Economic Forum.
According to reports, 3 million jobs are created annually in Africa whereas about 20 to 30 million jobs will be needed to absorb its fast-growing labor force in the coming years.
Boosting entrepreneurship is key to greatly increase the supply of decent jobs and bridge the unemployment gap, both in the formal or informal sector.
Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner of Janngo Capital, Fatoumata BA said, “In 2050, we’ll be roughly 2.2 billion people in Africa, which means that we need to find new massive ways to feed, educate, house, care for and employ more than 1 billion people in less than 30 years.”
“We believe traditional development models have failed because they were unbalanced and unsustainable either only focusing on commercial returns or too heavily aid-based.
“Our thesis strikes the right balance between delivering solid returns to our investors while being socially accountable, solving key market failures and leveraging technology to help leapfrog development. That’s our reason for being, as Janngo means “Tomorrow” or “Future” in Fulani.”
African women rank first as the most entrepreneurial in the world but there is currently a USD 42 Bn funding gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa according to the African Development Bank.
Fatoumata said “At Janngo, we believe that talent is equally distributed between men and women but opportunities aren’t; especially in terms of access to capital. That is why we are proud to be a female-led VC fund investing 50 percent of our proceeds in startups founded or co-founded by or benefiting women.”
