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African Technology, Impact and Opportunity Fund
United States of America
Last updated 11 May 2020, by Impactyield.
Fund geography
Emerging countries (256) / Africa (127) / Eastern Africa (50) / Ethiopia (5)
**The fund has closed, not taking any more investments.**
The African Technology, Impact and Opportunity Fund makes early stage investments to rapidly growing technology-enabled companies that deliver substantially improved goods and services and at a lower cost to consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Managing partner, Kwame L. Dougan, Esq., created this fund for investors looking to invest in African startups but find it economically inefficient to conduct the search, diligence and support ventures or for investors seeking social impact ventures rarely find them commercially viable.
Our unique value proposition is a deep, practical understanding of the Ghanaian, Nigerian and Ethiopian markets, consumer behaviour and enterprise demands. We seek to invest in the entrepreneurs leveraging the digital economy to penetrate existing markets while expanding into the untapped oft-ignored consumer or enterprise.
Africa's venture capital space is still very much in its nascent phase. Few players stand out and those that do lack experience in seed-stage venture investing, making it less competitive and an under-served investment class.
Over the past decade, iYa’s founders and its earliest investors worked individually on significant African transactions. Our current portfolio includes one company with revenue growth in the high double digits.
Asset class
Fund status
Fund style
Financial description
**The fund has closed, not taking any more investments.**
iYa expects to make equity and equity-like investments of between USD$50,000 and USD$250,000 Seed and Series A stage investments, with additional reserves for follow-on investments in the portfolio. In our experience, target ventures we find most promising are valued at between USD $500,000 and $5,000,000. We aim to own between 5%-10% stake of portfolio companies.
Operational and legal fees for this first fund have been dramatically reduced by a combination of proprietary capital and existing relationships with institutional partners, including the University of Michigan, Columbia University and global professional service firms.
9 years
of track record
2015
the year funded
10,000,000 USD
AUM
Interested in this fund?
Log in or create an account to request more information.
Gain a deeper and comprehensive understanding of how this fund generates positive impact in the themes and SDGs that matter to you, with insights provided by our dedicated team of expert analysts, and receive notifications about new available impact products, exciting investment opportunities, and relevant updates in the world of impact investing.
Asset manager
SDG goals
SDG targets
Equal rights to ownership basic services technology and economic resources
Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms
Double the improvement in energy efficiency
Promote policies to support job creation and growing enterprises
Full employment and decent work with equal pay
Increase access to financial services and markets
Universal access to information and communications technology
Impact Category
Key performance indicators
Fund overview
Asset manager: iYa Ventures
Product track record: Fund has 9 years of track record
Target IRR: 29%
Committed Capital: 25,000 USD (US Dollar)
Target return category: Risk-adjusted market-rate of return
Fund domicile: United States of America
Product status: Closed - no longer investing
Style/Stage: Angel Stage, Early Stage, Seed Stage
Inception year: 2015
Vintage year: 2015
Target region: Africa, Eastern Africa, Emerging countries, Ethiopia
Target close date: 01/11/2015
Product term: 10 year term
Assets under management: 10,000,000 USD (US Dollar)
Investment size: Min: 50,000; Max: 250,000; Avg: 75,000
Co-investment policy: LPs have priority, With LPs and non-LPs
Currency of investments: USD (US Dollar)
Currency for fund / product figures: USD (US Dollar)
Fund investments to date: 1
Fund investments to date exited or repaid: 0
Management fee: 2.5%
Carried interest: 20%
Hurdle rate: 8%%
GIIN Investors' Council Investment: No
Limited Partners / Investors: n.a.
Limited Partner / Investor Type: Development Finance Institution (DFI), Family Office, Retail Investors
Contact
E-mail: n.a.
Website: http://www.iyaventures.com
Phone number: 9177540181.00
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Kwame L. Dougan
Kwame L. Dougan
Impact Performance
n.a.
Impact thesis
We leverage practical experience working with African companies and our personal experiences growing up in Africa to identify companies with six (6) months+ of revenue growth, and positioned to bring technology-enabled workflow processes to deliver better, faster, cheaper goods and services to an expanding consumer base in Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
The majority of African SME entrepreneurs require funding amounts of below $1.5m (our current Fund mandate minimum requirement). More equity providers are needed at the lower level to close this ‘missing middle’ equity gap. Africa's low rate of entrepreneurial activity is attributed to a lack of financing. Our solution will specifically address these issues above and have a direct impact on SME development through the access to funding, infrastructure and support services. But there will also be a huge indirect impact through skills transfer and the access to information on how to set-up, manage and grow businesses.
Direct investment to companies operating in the digital economy will reach between 10 and 20 SMEs and directly generate directly tens of jobs in the formal sector. But the indirect reach from the investment returns generated by the iYa Ventures will reach a targeted 15 enterprises per annum and will generate indirectly hundreds of good jobs, also in the formal economies. The knock-on effect is the development of an early-stage investment ecosystem with a focus on community development.
Impact Management
n.a.
Financial benchmark
Term Description:
Keywords
Bottom/Base of the PyramidCommunity Investing/LocalMinorities/Previously Excluded PopulationsRuralWomen