On the eve of its participation to the 50th World Economic Forum, Janngo
(http://www.Janngo.Africa) pledges 60€ million to back technology
startups with a double bottom line approach through its dedicated
investment vehicle Janngo Capital Startup Fund. The fund is a first of
its kind Venture Capital & Impact vehicle investing from seed through
growth stage across Africa and targeting at least 50% of startups
founded, co-founded 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.
Entrepreneurship, a powerful engine to provide decent economic
opportunities and create jobs 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.”
explains Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner of
Janngo Capital.
Venture Capital as a way to bridge gender inequality in accessing
funding
African women are known to be the most entrepreneurial in the world with
a 26% Total Entrepreneurial Rate in Sub-Saharan Africa where they are
twice as likely to start a business than elsewhere (Source : Roland
Berger). Yet, there is currently a $42 billion funding gap for women
entrepreneurs in Africa according to the African Development Bank.
Additionally, the larger the ticket size, the harder it is for women in
emerging markets to get access to capital with only 10% of women
entrepreneurs able to raise money from Series A vs 49% at seed stage.
“At Janngo, we believe that talent is equally distributed between men
and women but opportunities aren’t; especially in terms of access to
capital. That is why we are proud to be a female-led VC fund investing
50% of our proceeds in startups founded, co-founded by or benefiting
women” adds Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner
of Janngo Capital.
Financing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa : the need for a
stakeholder approach to accelerate progress towards delivery in the next
decade
With a €60 million investment vehicle 100% dedicated to African startups
achieving both 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 includes a €15 million ticket from
the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest multilateral
financial institution and the biggest provider of climate finance.
“Thanks to the support of the EIB, we will be able to invest between €50
000 and €5 million, 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. 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 a
stakeholder capitalism” concludes Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of
Janngo and Managing Partner of Janngo Capital.
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