Endure Capital Closes First Close of $50M Fund to Invest in African Startups

Endure Capital, a venture capital firm focused on start-ups, has completed the first closing of its new $50 million fund which will be used to invest in companies in the Pan-African region.

The fund, Endure 21, is its second early-stage venture capital fund and fourth globally.

It will take an industry-neutral approach to investing in 24 start-ups, focusing on Africa while also considering global businesses, California-based Endure Capital said on Wednesday.

The fund has attracted participation from British International Investment (BII), the Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency and the founders of several leading start-ups in the region, he said.

“Endure is committed to adding value to founders and the region’s thriving startup ecosystem, and we love partnering with founders who relentlessly pursue entrepreneurship as a means of creating value for society. and that build sustainable businesses,” said Tarek Fahim, Founder. of Endure Capital.

The start-up sector has grown exponentially with the increase in digitalization in key sectors such as retail, services, e-commerce and government.

Start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa have also attracted considerable funding in recent years. They have collectively raised approximately $1.75 billion across the region’s top five countries for venture capital funding – the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Tunisia – in the first half of 2022. , data platform startup Magnitt said last month.

When it comes to Africa, Nigeria was the top destination for FinTech funding among emerging venture capital markets in the first half of 2022, according to another Magnitt report.

The country, along with the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt, generated $561 million in fintech investment, accounting for about three-quarters of total funding, according to the report.

Globally, the value created by start-ups was around $3 trillion in 2020, which is almost equal to the gross domestic product of a G7 economy, according to consultancy Startup Genome. Funding for these companies broke records in 2021 when it hit $621 billion, according to CB Insights.

In addition, more than 45 unicorns – start-ups valued at at least $1 billion – are expected to emerge from the Mena region by 2030, led by Saudi Arabia, according to a recent report by venture capital fund STV. based in Riyadh.

Endure Capital – an early investor in Careem, the Dubai-based startup that was later acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion – said it would set aside half of the Endure 21 fund for investments of followed in the best performing companies in its portfolio.

The new fund has already made several investments, including in Egyptian start-ups, including co-lead Series A funding of social commerce platform Brimore, buy now, pay later service Cassbana and the company of Pylon smart meters.

“Endure 21 will help support the next generation of visionary entrepreneurs in Egypt, providing them with the capital needed to build transformative businesses that create innovative solutions and accelerate productive, sustainable and inclusive growth in society,” said Abhinav Sinha. , General Manager and Head of Technology and Telecoms at the BII.

Alongside the new fund, Endure Capital has also launched two other initiatives – Endure Pay it Forward, which will see its portfolio founders mentor aspiring entrepreneurs, and the Endure Opportunity Fund, which aims to double previous investments.

Endure Capital was launched in 2015 and has investments in the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

He has helped create around 10,000 direct jobs and helped raise around $1.8 billion within his portfolio.

Updated: September 07, 2022, 07:23