LoftyInc Capital closes third fund at $14.3 million

In August 2021, LoftyInc Capital Management, an early-stage African-focused venture capital firm, announced the launch of its third fund—LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 (LAF3)—at $10 million.

The VC firm today announced the final close of the fund which was raised in eight months at $14.2 million—40% oversubscribed—LAF3 closed in Q1 2022. The fund was raised from limited partners from its second fund, including: FBNQuest Funds, syndicates from The Green Investment Club, HNIs from multinationals like Google, Facebook and ExxonMobil; and Andela CEO Jeremy Johnson,

"The close is significant in that it brought together an array of investor types including young African operators and founders, African HNWIs and African financial institutions. It is the next rung in our task of building an ecosystem of investors backing founders of African descent building companies that make a difference globally," Idris Ayodeji Bello, Founding Partner of LoftyInc Capital Management, said.

With the LAF3, LoftyInc Capital will invest in Seed-to-Series A technology-enabled companies founded by African entrepreneurs. The firm will significantly deepen its focus on investing in the most promising early to growth-stage startups improving African lives with disruptive tech-enabled products and services.

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According to a statement shared with Benjamindada.com, LAF3 has already invested in 52 companies across the continent in fintech, e-commerce, media, logistics, and healthcare sectors. The fund is pan-African, with a particular focus on the hyper-growth tech ecosystems in Nigeria and Egypt.

LoftyInc will double down on its thesis that: Africa's prosperity is through high-growth entrepreneurship that leads to massive job creation. According to Ed Zimmerman, co-founder of First Close Partners, "As serial investors in both
African startups and venture funds on the continent, we kept seeing and hearing
about Idris Bello and LoftyInc. More than a highly respected and connected entrepreneur and investor, we understood that LoftyInc was deeply enmeshed in the flow of the best deals on the continent and had a strong team with conviction and insights that convinced us at First Close Partners that LoftyInc would be an
an important part of our fund portfolio. We are proud to be LPs, especially given our deep conviction in the investment thesis for Africa-based VC and startups, some of which we published in Forbes in 2019."

Since 2011, LoftyInc has had over 160 investments and 6 exits—Flutterwave serves as LoftyInc's first exit. According to Bello, it returned to LPs three times their investments, this led to the launch of LAF3.

"FBNQuest Funds Ltd is pleased to invest with LoftyInc Capital Management in the 3rd edition of its pan-African technology venture capital fund (LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3). FBNQuest Funds has backed LoftyInc based on its solid track record in venture capital investing and its drive to democratize venture capital investing in Nigeria and beyond. We believe that LoftyInc is well-positioned to deliver on our shared objective to provide capital, the required operational support, and international partnerships to African technology startups," Christian Ekpo, Vice President at FBNQuest Funds, said.