Ventures Platform, a Pan-African venture capital firm headquartered in Nigeria, has raised an oversubscribed $84 million second fund, expanding its geographic focus beyond Nigeria to include markets such as Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. The firm plans to invest in early-stage startups across sectors like fintech, healthcare, and SaaS, with a particular emphasis on areas where technology can address essential needs and leverage AI to create new business models and cost structures (Aina, TechCrunch).

The fundraising process for Fund II took approximately a year and a half, occurring in a more selective venture market compared to the fundraising for Fund I in 2022. Limited partners (LPs) are now demanding stronger evidence of managers’ ability to generate returns, focusing on capital efficiency, portfolio construction, and the fundamentals of the businesses being supported. This shift reflects a maturing ecosystem where simply being a Pan-African fund is no longer sufficient; LPs seek detailed strategies on market navigation, talent acquisition, and the firm’s unique value proposition (Aina, TechCrunch).

This is a summary. Read the original at techcrunch.com.