On the eve of its participation to the 50th World Economic Forum, Janngo
\n(http:\/\/www.Janngo.Africa) pledges 60\u20ac million to back technology
\nstartups with a double bottom line approach through its dedicated
\ninvestment vehicle Janngo Capital Startup Fund. The fund is a first of
\nits kind Venture Capital & Impact vehicle investing from seed through
\ngrowth stage across Africa and targeting at least 50% of startups
\nfounded, co-founded or benefiting women.<\/p>\n
This initiative is part of Janngo’s broader commitment on financing the
\nSDGs in Africa, as a member of the Goalkeepers Community and the Global
\nFuture Council on the New Economic Agenda of the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurship, a powerful engine to provide decent economic
\nopportunities and create jobs in Africa<\/p>\n
In Africa, only 3 million jobs are created every year when at least 20
\nto 30 million jobs will be needed to absorb its fast growing labor force
\nin the coming years. In this context, unlocking entrepreneurship is a
\ncritical lever to massively increase the supply of decent jobs and
\nbridge the unemployment gap, both in the formal or informal sector.<\/p>\n
“In 2050, we’ll be roughly 2.2 billion people in Africa, which means
\nthat we need to find now massive ways to feed, educate, house, care for
\nand employ more than 1 billion people in less than 30 years. We believe
\ntraditional development models have failed because they were unbalanced
\nand unsustainable either only focusing on commercial returns or too
\nheavily aid-based : our thesis strikes the right balance between
\ndelivering solid returns to our investors while being socially
\naccountable, solving key market failures and leveraging technology to
\nhelp leapfrog development. That’s our ikigai (http:\/\/bit.ly\/2TFUOVm),
\nour reason for being, as Janngo means “Tomorrow” or “Future” in Fulani.”
\nexplains Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner of
\nJanngo Capital.<\/p>\n
Venture Capital as a way to bridge gender inequality in accessing
\nfunding<\/p>\n
African women are known to be the most entrepreneurial in the world with
\na 26% Total Entrepreneurial Rate in Sub-Saharan Africa where they are
\ntwice as likely to start a business than elsewhere (Source : Roland
\nBerger). Yet, there is currently a $42 billion funding gap for women
\nentrepreneurs in Africa according to the African Development Bank.
\nAdditionally, the larger the ticket size, the harder it is for women in
\nemerging markets to get access to capital with only 10% of women
\nentrepreneurs able to raise money from Series A vs 49% at seed stage.<\/p>\n
“At Janngo, we believe that talent is equally distributed between men
\nand women but opportunities aren’t; especially in terms of access to
\ncapital. That is why we are proud to be a female-led VC fund investing
\n50% of our proceeds in startups founded, co-founded by or benefiting
\nwomen” adds Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner
\nof Janngo Capital.<\/p>\n
Financing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa : the need for a
\nstakeholder approach to accelerate progress towards delivery in the next
\ndecade<\/p>\n
With a \u20ac60 million investment vehicle 100% dedicated to African startups
\nachieving both an economic performance and a social impact, Janngo’s
\ncommitment is paving the way for SDGs financing in the Venture Capital
\nSpace in Africa. This pool of capital includes a \u20ac15 million ticket from
\nthe European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest multilateral
\nfinancial institution and the biggest provider of climate finance.<\/p>\n
“Thanks to the support of the EIB, we will be able to invest between \u20ac50
\n000 and \u20ac5 million, from seed through growth stage in startups all
\nacross Africa demonstrating the ability to deliver financial and social
\nreturns. Every past investment and every startup in our dealflow is
\nmapped against the 17 SDGs; their ability to create jobs for women, for
\nyoung people and green jobs is also assessed. We act not only as
\nfinancial partners but as operating partners with a very hands-on and
\nlong-term approach as well as an ecosystem thinking. That is why we have
\nengaged with stakeholders sharing the same vision through our
\npartnership with the EIB, our contribution to the WEF conversation on
\nFinancing the SDGs during Davos Annual Meeting and our commitment to the
\nGoalkeepers community. We have a decade to deliver on the Goals and the
\nclock is ticking : we need more than a positive capitalism, we need a
\nstakeholder capitalism” concludes Fatoumata BA, Executive Chair of
\nJanngo and Managing Partner of Janngo Capital.<\/p>\n
ReplyReply allForward<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the eve of its participation to the 50th World Economic Forum, Janngo (http:\/\/www.Janngo.Africa) pledges 60\u20ac million to back technology startups with a double bottom line approach through its dedicated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-news"],"yoast_head":"\n