Japanese investor announces first close for Africa fund
AAIC Investment, a Japanese investment firm headquartered in Singapore, announced the first closing of the Africa Innovation & Healthcare Fund (AHF2) in March 2022, its second fund focusing on investing in start-ups in Africa. AHF 2 will commence its investment activities and will continue to accept subscriptions until it attains its target of US$150 million.
Investors who joined the AHF2 at first closing include Asahi Intecc, Eisai Inc., Ohara Pharmaceuticals as well as other prominent Japanese trading companies.
AHF2 invests primarily in healthcare, a sector that is undergoing rapid advancement in the fields of telemedicine and artificial intelligence-led diagnosis. Other areas of investments include industries such as fintech, of which products and services offered by these companies play a crucial role in further accelerating the growth of the healthcare industry.
AAIC Investment launched its inaugural Africa-focused fund, the Africa Healthcare Fund (AHF1), in 2017. The fund raised a total of $47 million and has invested in and supported the growth of 30 start-ups to date.
AHF1 was the first Japanese-affiliated VC to operate from Kenya in 2015. The investment manager established two more offices, in Nigeria and South Africa, in December 2020 and March 2022, respectively. It is also in the process of setting up its Egypt office. Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt have also been found to make-up nearly 74% of all African start-up investments in 2021. With the launch of AHF2, AAIC Investment strives to further expand its operational footprint in order to cover all regions of Africa.
From its years of experience in Africa, AAIC Investment observed the limited role of Japan as compared to Europe, China, and India. AAIC Investment will strive not only to maximise returns for its investors through the activities of the funds but also to import Japanese technologies and skillsets to Africa and develop sustainable growth for both parties.
“I am excited and grateful for all the tremendous support from our stakeholders and pleased to announce the launch of our second fund. Since the founding of AAIC Holdings, considering the declining birth rate and ageing population in Japan, our hypothesis is that Japan’s future growth can only be achieved when Japanese firms would expand their business overseas, internationalise, and cooperate fully with the emerging markets. We believe that the launch of the new fund will further expedite the realisation of sustainable growth for both Japan and Africa,” said AAIC Holding’s founder and CEO, Susumu Tsubaki.
“From 2015 to 2021, during the first few years of my assignment in Kenya, the volume of start-up funding in Africa grew by about 20-fold. I am looking forward to the next 10 years of development, which is also the period of operation for our second fund. The fact that hospitals in Africa are still lacking in basic infrastructure highlights the greater importance of the role of technology in developing countries than in developed economies,” said Hiroki Ishida, AAIC Investment’s principal and representative of the Kenya office.
In addition, AAIC Investment’s manager and representative of the Nigeria office highlights, “The pandemic has spurred the healthcare sector’s digitalisation to the real practice. AAIC Investment is looking forward to supporting this movement and bridging the African firms to the world. We are thrilled to create an innovative value in Africa’s healthcare sector with the local start-ups, entrepreneurs, and leaders.”