African technology start-ups challenged by lean funding options available in the continent now have something to delight in. Janngo, Africa’s first social start-up studio, has pledged to invest €60 million in the tech space, after seeing humongous potentials that innovative solutions can help in successfully achieving the united nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Janngo revealed its plans to dedicate its €60 million venture capital fund to financing tech-enabled startups accelerating progress towards the SDGs in Africa, with €15 million anchor investment by the European Investment Bank at the ongoing 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
The fund is a first of its kind Venture Capital and impact vehicle investing from seed through growth stages across Africa and targeting at least 50 percent of startups founded, co-founded by or benefiting women. This initiative is part of Janngo’s broader commitment on financing the SDGs in Africa, as a member of the Goalkeepers Community and the Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda of the World Economic Forum.
Locally developed technology solutions with global appeal and ability to scale up, are essential in Africa’s move towards development.
With a €60m investment vehicle 100% dedicated to African startups achieving an economic performance and a social impact, Janngo’s commitment is paving the way for SDGs financing in the Venture Capital Space in Africa. This pool of capital which includes a €15m ticket from EIB – the world’s largest multilateral financial institution and the biggest provider of climate finance, will help mitigate the challenge of sourcing start-up capital which keeps technology-driven businesses at ground levels longer than expected.
“Thanks to the support of the EIB, we will be able to invest between €50,000m and €5m, from seed through growth stage in startups all across Africa demonstrating the ability to deliver financial and social returns. Every past investment and every startup in our dealflow is mapped against the 17 SDGs; their ability to create jobs for women, for young people and green jobs is also assessed,” Fatoumata BA, executive chair of Janngo and managing partner of Janngo Capital said.
“We act not only as financial partners but as operating partners with a very hands-on and long-term approach as well as an ecosystem thinking. That is why we have engaged with stakeholders sharing the same vision through our partnership with the EIB, our contribution to the WEF conversation on financing the SDGs during Davos annual meeting and our commitment to the Goalkeepers community. We have a decade to deliver on the Goals and the clock is ticking: we need more than a positive capitalism, we need stakeholder capitalism.”
Investment in entrepreneurship will lead to more job and economic opportunities for faster and sustainable development in Africa.
In Africa, only 3 million jobs are created every year, when at least 20 to 30 million jobs will be needed to absorb its fast growing labor force in the coming years. In this context, unlocking entrepreneurship is a critical lever to massively increase the supply of decent jobs and bridge the unemployment gap, both in the formal or informal sector.
“In 2050, we’ll be roughly 2.2 billion people in Africa, which means that we need to find now massive ways to feed, educate, house, care for and employ more than 1 billion people in less than 30 years. We believe traditional development models have failed because they were unbalanced and unsustainable either only focusing on commercial returns or too heavily aid-based : our thesis strikes the right balance between delivering solid returns to our investors while being socially accountable, solving key market failures and leveraging technology to help leapfrog development. That’s our ikigai (http://bit.ly/2TFUOVm), our reason for being, as Janngo means “Tomorrow” or “Future” in Fulani,” Fatoumata said.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
