Oui Capital to invest in 30 African early-stage startups

After investing in 18 tech startups across seven African countries, Oui Capital has launched its $30 million second fund—Oui Capital Mentors Fund II to invest in 30 early-stage startups.

Individual investors such as Brad Feld, Seth Levine and Ryan McIntyre (Foundry Group’s partners), Gbenga Oyebode, Alitheia Capital’s Tokunboh Ishmael, Idris Alubankudi and TeamApt CEO Tosin Eniolorunda participated.

Global VCs like Angur Nagpal’s Vibe Capital, D Global ventures, Boston-based One Way Ventures and Ground Squirrel Ventures also invested in the fund.

The African-focused VC firm will also expand its investments to Francophone and Northern Africa. "Even though our base is in West Africa, these two regions are strategically important to building a diversified African portfolio. We can cross-pollinate our learning and distribution to create value across the continent," Olu Oyinsan, Oui Capital’s Managing Partner said.

With the Oui Capital Mentors Fund II, the firm will now write cheques of about $750,000 (a 10x increase from the ticket size of its first fund) with reserves in place for such follow-on investments. "Expect us to be leading many more deals across the ecosystem and vocalizing firm initiatives—all things that we’ve been doing quietly in the past four years, but now looking to double down on these with the new fund," Oyinsan added.

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Oui Capital’s first fund delivered early solid returns, with a MOIC (multiple on invested capital) in excess of 7x, according to Oyinsan. The VC firm invested in TeamApt, arguably one of the largest fintechs in Africa (in revenue and market cap), TeamApt is, for now, the breakout success of Oui Capital’s portfolio.

The latest fund will focus on digital commerce, enterprise software, fintech, including crypto-based solutions and human capital. Also, potential companies to join Oui Capital's portfolio will be scrutinised based on their team and how well-suited the team is to build the solution and deal with the unknown. Also, the market potential of the company and how customer-focused a product is will give the startups an edge.

L-R: Francesco Andreoli and Olu Oyinsan

Founded by Olu Oyinsan and Francesco Andreoli, the firm launched its first $10 million fund in 2018. The investment firm aims to bridge the gap between high-growth technology startups in sub-Saharan Africa and the first "yes" (Oui means yes in French) founders get as they embark on their journey to build tech-enabled businesses for the African market.

MVXchange, a logistics and embedded trade finance platform powering trade in Africa got its first "yes" when Oui Capital led its $100,000 pre-seed fund in 2019.

"We’ve gotten tremendous support from Oui Capital and I believe they are one of the most genuine VCs out there supporting African startups," Tonye Membere-Otaji, Founder & CEO of MVX noted in a statement shared with Benjamindada.com. "Oui Capital has been quite instrumental, from being our first yes, to co-pitching with us on early calls, introducing us to other VCs and investors, assisting with products and hiring."