Kenyan industrialist's Jua Fund invests in seven startups
Three enterprises from Kenya, two from Nigeria and one each from Madagascar and Zimbabwe are the recipients of the inaugural $2-million Jua Fund, the largest African venture capital fund by a private individual.
Bryt-Knowledge (Zimbabwe), GrowAgric (Kenya), Jirogasy (Madagascar), Powerstove Energy (Nigeria), Side (Kenya), Whispa Health (Nigeria) and Xetova (Kenya) all agreed to deals with the fund following a week-long “Kickstarter Olympics” during which they pitched their ideas to a high-profile panel of judges.
The final deal closure and disbursement will be contingent on the enterprises passing a due diligence and other agreed terms and conditions.
The fund will not only provide equity to the enterprises but also mentorship and advisory support as well as put them in touch with other investors.
African industrialist Adam Molai launched the Jua Fund last November inspired by his dream to develop Africa through the empowerment of entrepreneurs.
Molai says the exercise had over-delivered on his expectations.
“The Jua Fund is a tiny drop in the ocean, in our effort to unite African grey hairs with our bright young future through funding and mentorship support. After listening to the pitches and presentations during the Kickstarter Olympics, my faith and hope has more than been repaid. We have brilliant entrepreneurs on this continent. I and my fellow judges were immensely impressed by all our finalists, even those that fell away during the week,” he says.
Molai says he was especially delighted that the recipients would deliver the impact that he wanted Jua Fund to have.
“We targeted enterprises that are scalable across the continent and actually address the challenges that are hobbling Africa’s development, and the selected enterprises all do that. Jirogasy and Bryt will be furthering education, one through hardware the other through software; Side and GrowAgric are disrupting the value chain of goods from farm to table; Powerstove Energy is saving the environment with their cooking stove innovation, Whispa Health is taking care of wellbeing and Xetova are adding African flair to procurement. We look forward to a long and productive future for all of them,” he says.
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