Launch Africa Ventures was co-founded in 2020 by Zachariah George, a former Wall Street M&A banker turned prolific African angel investor, and Janade du Plessis, then head of venture capital at Nedbank, after both recognized a persistent funding gap facing startups graduating from accelerators at the pre-seed and pre-Series A stage. The firm's debut fund closed oversubscribed at $36 million within 18 months, drawing from 238 retail and institutional investors across 40 countries - notably without a single development finance institution among them, an unusual capital structure for African venture funds. That high-touch, high-scale approach has made Launch Africa the continent's most active early-stage VC fund, backing more than 180 startups across 25 countries including Kuda, Bitmama, and Mano, supported by a network of more than 400 limited partners.
No confirmed exit yet - Launch Africa's scale is the story instead: 180-plus startups backed across 25 African countries, funded by 400-plus limited partners, making it the continent's most active early-stage VC fund