Tech Fund // TLCom Secures first close of USD 150m to Back Startups

TLcom, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, has announced  a $70 million first close for its $150 million Africa-focused tech fund, solidifying the investor’s position as the continent’s largest independent VC firm.

With a first close in line with the total size of its TIDE Africa Fund, which closed in 2020, TLcom’s second fund sees participation from Allianz, the world’s largest insurance company, through AfricaGrow, its joint venture with DEG Impact (German Investment Corporation), as well as a host of new and returning investors including Bertelsmann, King Philanthropies, the TLcom team and FBNQuest from the private sector, and major DFIs such as CDC Group (the UK’s development finance institution), IFC, Proparco and Swedfund. A second close of the fund is expected later in 2022.

TLcom’s new tech fund will expand its existing focus on fast-growing, tech-enabled African startups to Egypt, while also strengthening its long-standing presence in East and West Africa.

With the Tech Fund, TLcom expects to add an additional 20 early-stage startups to its portfolio with ticket sizes ranging from $500,000 to $15 million, with a focus on Seed and Series A stages, and will target entrepreneurs tackling some of the continent’s most complex challenges in sectors such as fintech, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, education, and ecommerce.

The TIDE Africa Fund’s entrepreneurs have gained tremendous traction in recent years, with total sales expanding 3x since investment, over 2,300 jobs created, and significant up-rounds secured with involvement from leading global investors such as Softbank, Owl Ventures, and Index Ventures.

To date, TLcom’s tech fund portfolio companies have raised more than half a billion dollars in cash, in addition to TIDE Africa Fund money, and new investments secured from these entrepreneurs have averaged 5x the valuation of the first TLcom investment.

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TLcom, which was founded in 1999, now manages over $350 million in primary and secondary funds and has one of the most extensive portfolios in African technology, with 12 startups including Andela, Ajua, Autochek, Ilara Health, Kobo360, Okra, Pula, Seamless HR, Shara, Terragon Group, Twiga, and uLesson.

Founder and Managing Partner Maurizio Caio, based in Kenya, Senior Partner Dr. Omobola Johnson, based in Nigeria, and Partners Andreata Muforo in Kenya and Ido Sum in the UK make up the company’s highly experienced and growing workforce, which is also 50 percent female at the senior leadership level.

TLcom tech fund has supported tech entrepreneurs in Europe, US and Africa across all technology sectors, from semiconductor manufacturing to mobile solutions and services, and at all stages of development, from seed to growth capital.

TLCom Capital, who is an alumni of Nairobi Garage // Westlands has a partnership with entrepreneurs that goes well beyond the provision of capital to include strategic, operational and financial support in designing and executing superior business models in large markets.

TLCom Capital exit track records across regions including recent transactions in Africa such as the acquisition of Upstream on behalf of private equity group Actis, and the acquisition of Movirtu on behalf of global mobile leader Blackberry.

TLcom’s participation in leading smaller rounds indicates the growing intensity at which investors battle for deals these days. From local investors such as LoftyInc and Ventures Platform, which have sizable funds to invest super early, to global investors like Tiger Global and Target Global making inroads from pre-seed to Series C, competition within Africa’s venture capital market is heating up.

That said, TLcom–whose team includes Caio, senior partner Omobola Johnson, partners Ido Sum and Andreata Muforo— says it wants to add an extra 20 early-stage startups to its portfolio. Ticket sizes in these companies will range from $500,000 to $15 million.

The firm will most likely tailor its fund structure like its first: part of the capital for early-stage startups, while the rest will be for new or follow-on rounds of companies at growth and late stage. Its first check from the second fund was a lead investment in SeamlessHR.