Ventures Platform, a Pan-African venture capital firm headquartered in Nigeria, has closed an oversubscribed $83 million second fund, expanding its geographic focus beyond its home market as it responds to a tougher, more selective fundraising environment. The firm will back early-stage founders across fintech, healthcare, SaaS and other sectors, with a particular interest in how artificial intelligence can lower the cost of serving African markets and address labour shortages, according to founding partner Kola Aina.

The new fund follows a $46 million debut fund raised in 2022, which focused mainly on pre-seed and seed rounds in Nigeria; Fund II has already deployed capital to five companies in Kenya, South Africa and Egypt, with cheque sizes of up to $3 million to be invested over three to four years. The 18-month fundraising process reflected greater scrutiny from limited partners, who Aina said are now demanding harder evidence of returns, capital efficiency and governance rather than simply backing pan-African positioning. This caution comes against a broader slowdown in the region, with African startups raising around $930 million across more than 200 deals so far this year, down from $1.16 billion across 447 deals last year.