After four years of accelerating startups, Founders Factory Africa is rebranding as 54 Collective, a VC firm with a $40 million fund to invest in early-stage African ventures across various sectors.
Today, we are a VC firm with a $40m fund. Alongside that, we have $107 million that is backing our venture success platform. In total, if you add the $107 million and the $40 million fund, we are almost on the north of $150 million that we are managing in supporting startups and also making investments, Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective, told TechCabal.
Venture Capital inflows to African startups declined 31% in 2023 to $4.5 billion as foreign investors raced to the exits after the end of the zero-interest rate period. The number of deals through equity or debt decreased to 545 from a record 781 in 2022, according to a report by the London-based African Private Capital Association .Many investors have argued that local VCs with deep knowledge of the continent need to step up and fill the gap.
54 Collective joins a growing list of local investors like Partech that are stepping in to keep capital flowing to startups in Africa.
While building Founders Factory Africa, Sithole realised why many tech companies fail after raising money from investors. They often take too long to set up a board; when some do, they see the board as a reporting structure rather than tapping into the advisory capabilities of the members.
