America’s Tofino Capital secures $10m to support tech in Africa

A Washington-based VC firm, Tofino Capital, has secured a US$10 million fund to invest in early-stage companies in Africa.

The new raiser was confirmed by Co-founder Eliot Pence, in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday.

According to Eliot, the round saw participation from investors including large family offices, top-tier venture funds, and HNWIs.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the VC was founded earlier this year by Eliot Pence and Aubrey Hruby, and has invested in startups like Sabi, SeamlessHR and Eksab.

Speaking on the raiser and intent, Pence said:

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“We were driven by a question we didn’t think the venture community had answered. ‘Why do some of the fastest-growing markets have the lowest per capita availability of venture financing?’

“Egypt, Philippines, Nigeria and Bangladesh, for example, have on average US$5 per capita of venture investment, whereas China is above US$40.”

The VC will invest between US$$50,000 and US$1 million in pre-seed and seed companies across all sectors, but with a particular focus on B2B.

By: Kayode Hamsat

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