Lagos – February 2022 – FBNQuest, the investment banking, and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc continues to demonstrate its support for the growth of technology startups in Africa through its recent participation in the 2nd investment vehicle of TLcom Capital (TIDE Africa Fund II – TAF 2).
TLcom Capital LLP, an Africa-focused venture capital firm has recently announced a first close of $70mn for its $150mn Africa focused tech fund (TIDE Africa Fund II -TAF2), this achievement firmly positions the firm to become one of the largest independent Venture Capital (VC) fund managers fully dedicated to the continent. Most of this capital has come from returning LPs (those who backed the first fund), indicating their confidence in the fund manager. These Limited Partners (LPs) include Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) like Sango Capital, IFC, Propaco, and CDC Group (now known as British International Investments) as well as the private sector and philanthropic investors like FBNQuest Funds and King Philanthropies respectively. A new investor backing TAF 2 is AfricaGrow – a joint venture platform backed by Allianz (the world’s largest insurer) and DEG (the German DFI). The new fund gives TLcom the opportunity to expand its existing focus on fast-growth tech-enabled African startups to markets like Egypt, as well as strengthen its long-standing presence across East and West Africa.
In the manager’s first African-focused VC fund (TIDE Africa Fund I – TAF 1) which closed at US$71Mn, FBNQuest’s capital contribution in TAF 1 helped TLcom back and catalyze 11 companies directly via co-investments over US$200Mn into these companies in subsequent funding rounds. This has helped produce successful tech companies such as Andela (a recently announced unicorn with a valuation of c.US$1.5Bn), Kobo360, Twiga Foods, uLesson, Okra, and Autochek.
In addition to the above, TLcom has built a robust network in the Africa tech ecosystem with over 10 years direct participation in the space. The fund manager has established ecosystem initiatives such as a CEO Summit – a summit to catalyze synergy and collaboration between CEOs of portfolio companies, and a Tech Female Founders Summit – an event designed to build a collaborative network of African female tech founders.
Speaking on the TAF 2 first close, Ijeoma Agboti, Managing Director, FBNQuest Funds stated, “We recognize the transformational role that technology must play in narrowing the gap between industries in Africa and the rest of the world, and we are proud to have played a pivotal role in enabling this growth.”
FBNQuest is pleased to have participated in the first close of TLcom’s 2nd edition pan-African Tech Fund (TIDE Africa Fund II). This follows our first close commitment to the manager’s maiden fund (TIDE Africa Fund I). Our decision to support TLcom on its second fund was based on the fund manager’s track record of investing in high-growth tech companies with strong business fundamentals and implementing value creation strategies that improve the operations and profitability of these companies. We remain confident that TLcom is well-positioned to continue to deliver on our shared objective to provide capital, the required operational support, and access to international partnerships to technology companies in the Africa region through the TIDE Africa Fund II.
As a leading Alternative Investments manager, backing the TIDE Africa Fund II adds to the organisation’s impressive portfolio of tech-focused funds it has supported, and once again highlights its capability to participate in the high-growth technology venture capital space.
-ENDS-
About FBNQuest Funds
FBNQuest Funds is a subsidiary of FBNQuest Capital. Our distinctive heritage as an organisation allows us to leverage specialisation of the subsidiaries of our parent company to enhance delivery and provide world-class client solutions.
We provide more than just capital. We seek to partner with strong management teams to unlock value by providing technical support and strategic guidance to our companies in areas of operational improvements, including cost optimisation, revenue enhancement, and balance sheet optimisation.
