France-based Kara Ventures launches fund to boost African startups

Kara Ventures, a French angel collective, has recently launched a side fund to support African startups in their growth and development.

The sector-agnostic fund, which has already invested in six African businesses, aims to back a total of 20 startups during its lifespan, focusing on startups across the continent and investing anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000.

In addition to financial support, Kara Ventures also provides assistance with go-to-market strategy, hiring, legal operations, and further fundraising for each startup. The side fund is funded by a group of tech angels looking to support AfricaTech and gather insights for the European VC ecosystem.

According to Kara Ventures, almost half of the African population owns a mobile phone and the internet economy in Africa is projected to reach a value of $180 billion by 2025. Additionally, the demographic of Africa is becoming younger, with approximately half of the population expected to be under 24 years old by mid-century.

In a LinkedIn post, angel investor Jérémy Goillot who also started the growth career education programme Growth.Talent, said: "I wish to dedicate my evenings and weekends to supporting this promising ecosystem. With Rena Kakon, we took on the (crazy) challenge of investing in the best African startups during our free time.

"In seven months we created a fund, embarked rockstar angels, visited 10 African countries and closed six investments!"