Aduna Capital Set to Improve Tech Startups in Nigeria with $20million Fund

Top-tier Nigerian investment company, Aduna Capital has launched a $20 million fund that will focus on improving tech startups and supporting female founders, especially in Northern Nigeria. 

As a venture capital firm, Aduna understands how much more must be invested into technology to keep the wave moving. Supporting innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to the fullest, Surayyah Ahmed Sanni and Sanusi Ismaila started Aduna Capital. 

Aduna Capital made the announcement about its early-stage fund yesterday and as far as the Nigerian tech ecosystem is concerned, it is a huge one. "I've had to work 10x harder than anyone in most rooms to get my due, just because I was born in a certain place and my name sounds a certain way. Together with my friend @Surayyah__ahmad (and a few friends), we want to make sure that many more people across Africa don't have the same experience." Sanusi wrote in his tweet yesterday. 

According to Sanusi Ismaila and Surayyah Ahmed, the general partners at Aduna Capital, half of the funds will go into improving tech startups in the northern part of Nigeria and the other half will be used to support other exceptional founders nationwide and across Africa. Also, while the fund may be focusing on northern startups, it is putting more female startup founders on the spot too. 

"By 2050, Nigeria is set to become the 4th largest country globally, surpassing the USA, with the majority of this growth in the North. This represents a massive opportunity for product launches and scaling across the continent." Surayyah Ahmed, the general partner at Aduna tweeted. 

Surayyah Ahmed is currently a founding partner of the accelerator TTlabs and Sanusi Ismaila, is a big figure in the tech industry and founder of CoLab, a tech company in the north. This makes both of them seasoned professionals with deep industry knowledge and networks. Their dedication to nurturing tech innovation, particularly in regions like Northern Nigeria, reflects a strategic approach to addressing the imbalance in opportunities across the country. Also, Aduna Capital's focus on supporting female founders aligns with global efforts to encourage diversity in entrepreneurship and tech. 

Surayyah had earlier written in one of her articles on Medium that northern Nigerian startups are being left behind when it comes to securing venture capital funding and this has significant consequences on the area's economic progress and technological advancements. 

She also mentioned that there were multiple factors contributing to the VC (Venture Capital) funding gap in Northern Nigeria. These factors included a lack of investor awareness, bias among investors, and inadequate infrastructure. Owing to limited investor awareness in the north and a prevailing inclination to invest in conventional enterprises rather than high-growth ventures, securing angel investments for startups in Northern Nigeria has posed a challenge.

Also, she highlighted that numerous startups rely on early-stage angel funding from relatives, acquaintances, and community leaders to build their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and validate their concepts before pursuing additional funding, including VC funding. 

Recognizing these setbacks that tech founders in the north have experienced, birthing this initiative has to be the best and most considerate option there is. The duo founders stated that while there is an existence of certain geographical and gender biases, the fund has a pan-African scope. They emphasized their eagerness to actively engage and collaborate with others in creating opportunities. Their primary goal is to validate the trust their investors have placed in them, making the venture worthwhile through concerted efforts. 

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