Outlierz Ventures, an investment fund based out of Morocco, and one of the pioneer francophone Africa enabled firms on the continent with backing from private American firms in Silicon Valley, the Middle East, and within Africa as well.
The likes of Michael Seibel, CEO of YCombinator, the world’s most respected early-stage investment firm based in Silicon Valley responsible for the success of 500 startups, Dropbox and Airbnb, rated as the most active venture capital fund globally.
Others like:
- Joel Sibrac, former President of the BMCI bank in Morocco, and Bank of the West in San Francisco, part of BNP Paribas Group,
- Hicham Oudghiri, co-founder and CEO of Enigma, a successful entrepreneur from the African diaspora in the big data space based in New York, another leading US and African private investor backing Outlierz Ventures.
From its inception in 2017, the fund has made five investments in fast-growing tech-enabled companies across five different markets, mainly Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Morocco markets, and it commits itself wholly towards investing in technology with MAD 500,000 and 5 million churned into companies that showcase high growth potentials.
Their investment strategy
Outlierz Ventures invests its funds primarily in tech-enabled companies to solve fundamental issues across key industries within the continent specifically the Agritech, Fintech, Insurtech, Healthtech, and logistics industries to drive the most dynamic African ecosystems mainly Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco.
As a matter of fact, it has even disclosed its intentions to further explore other ecosystems on the continent it deemed untapped such as Francophone and more of West Africa.
Outlierz then avails investment tickets that range between $50,000 and $500,000 in seed-stage based on first customers and products on the market, and Pre-Series A companies based on growth, revenue, and the start of an expansion.
These funds now serve as a bridge between Anglophone and Francophone African markets to facilitate how tech companies access markets and scale from East and South Africa into North and West Africa.
It then leverages the solid networks of private investors and key industry leaders with a strong presence in Africa and also its own large Moroccan industry
“We are proud to announce our investments in promising African tech companies led by talented entrepreneurs across different markets who have the potential to transform the continent’s economies,” stated Kenza Lahlo, the co-founder of Outlierz Ventures.
Buttressing on this, fellow co-founder and General Partner at Outlierz Ventures also explained:
“We are excited about the opportunities created by the tech revolution for the African continent, both concerning economic value creation and accelerating the continent’s development. Africa is definitely the next frontier to VC investments and we are eager to contribute to proving it”
With how the COVID-19 crisis has boosted companies to focus on digital services to improve their businesses, most companies have adjusted to the digital segment of operations to remain competitive and adhere to a market where customer mobility has been curtailed.
In summary, the team has reviewed over 1,000 investment opportunities and kicked-off conversations with more than 350 entrepreneurs across the continent.
Featured Image: disrupt-africa
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