Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures lands new investor

Toyota Tsusho Corporation announced its commitment to invest in Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), which is managed by Verod-Kepple Africa Partners (VKAP). This investment aims at supporting start-ups and pursuing opportunities for business synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group in Africa.

VKAV is the first fund launched by VKAP, which is a joint venture between private equity firm Verod Capital Management and venture capital investor Kepple Africa Ventures. VKAV plans to make investments of $100 million in the five years, from 2022 to 2026, in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue businesses bringing about transformative change by addressing difficult challenges across various industries on the continent.

Toyota Tsusho, together with its subsidiary CFAO, established Mobility 54 Investment, a corporate venture capital firm dedicated to investing in and financing mobility-related startups in Africa, in October 2019. Since its establishment, Mobility 54 has invested approximately $28 million (as at the end of July 2022) in 14 start-ups.

In April 2021, Toyota Tsusho also invested in Samurai Africa Fund 2 Investment Partnership, a fund managed by Samurai Incubate Inc., promoting scouting for startups, including those in fields other than mobility.

This new investment is aimed at sourcing for start-ups in the healthcare, consumer goods, carbon neutral and other fields and pursuing business synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group and Mobility 54.

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