Antler closes oversubscribed East Africa fund at $13.5m to bolster early stage tech startups

Antler, an early-stage investor, has closed its oversubscribed East Africa investment fund at a cost of US$13.5 million in order to continue supporting early-stage tech startups in the region.

Antler is the world’s most active early-stage investor, having invested in hundreds of technology startups and thousands of entrepreneurs across six continents. To date, the company has invested in over 400 businesses across 30 industries.

Antler East Africa launched its first venture building cohort in August 2019, and the company has since run five full cohorts, totaling 153 founders, and made 14 investments. Antler is launching a new, community-driven platform approach this month, accepting founders and teams on a rolling basis.

The company intends to make 35 new investments over the next three years, and it closed its East Africa operation for US$13.5 million, far exceeding its US$10 million target. The round was attended by prominent investors such as Baillie Gifford, institutional investors such as IFC, and family offices such as Canica.

The model will be dual in nature, accepting both founders looking to build their businesses with Antler from the ground up and early-stage startups looking to raise capital. Antler aims to have one of the shortest institutional funding cycles in Africa for a global fund, with a focus on providing coaching and true value to all of our founders from the start.

“We are excited about Antler’s presence in East Africa, and we hope to expand into other parts of Africa in the future.” “With rapidly growing economies and a rapidly developing startup ecosystem, we believe now is the ideal time to launch and build tech startups on the continent,” said Magnus Grimeland, Antler’s founder and CEO.

“With Melalite Ayenew and Marie Nielsen at the helm of Antler East Africa, we have two great female partners who have demonstrated exceptional skill as investors and entrepreneurs, and Antler looks forward to enabling and investing in entrepreneurs who are innovating across a range of industries in the coming years.”