Mauritius-domiciled fund manager, the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) this week announced the launch of its GIIG Africa Fund, which is mandated to invest in early-stage tech innovation start-ups across Africa.
The emerging markets investment manager has teamed up with the Africa-based Global Startup Awards (GSA), which holds an annual competition to connect innovative teams and leaders in order to drive access and investment in 55 markets across the region.
The fund will invest across the GSA’s nine main categories including ‘women in tech’ and ‘ESG tech’. It will deploy capital into solutions that align to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the aspirations of the African Union Agenda which targets progress by 2063.
The closed-ended vehicle seeks to raise $100m and targets a 25% gross return. The GP will launch funds on an annual basis, with each investing in GSA winners, with each representing technology start-ups at various stages of development within the venture capital asset class.
The investment period of the funds will be three months in length. The minimum investment commitment by family offices is $250,000 and $1 million for institutional investors.
The GIIG team told FinanceAsia, “we have seen many funds from Asia launch investments into African Startups; however, the GIIG Africa Fund is the only fund of its kind that provides investors with an always-on startup pipeline.”
GIIG has four founding members; Mahyar Makhazani and Philip Baldwin from Amma Asset Management, who have experience raising capital for four funds across alternative asset classes, along with Jo Griffiths and Caitlin Nash, founders of Loudhailer, a firm that works to connect participants in next-gen African tech with the potential to solve global challenges.
GIIG is collaborating with accountancy firm, Grant Thornton on the fundraise.
