The investment represents the EBRD’s first commitment to a pan-African venture capital fund focused on opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. It will support the fund’s strategy of backing technology-driven businesses with strong growth prospects and the potential to contribute to innovation, job creation and private-sector development across the continent.
Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II is expected to invest in early-stage technology companies in several African markets, with particular attention to Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. The fund will seek out businesses developing innovative solutions while helping promising founders scale their operations and create sustainable value.
The EBRD’s investment is being made through its Early-Stage Innovation Facility II, a €200 million programme designed to invest in commercially oriented venture capital funds. The facility is aimed at supporting promising technology businesses and fund managers, while helping to improve access to finance, strengthen innovation ecosystems and accelerate private-sector development.
Commenting on the investment, Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, said: "We are delighted to welcome the EBRD as an investor in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II. Its commitment reflects a shared conviction that Africa's next generation of globally relevant technology companies will be built by founders solving meaningful problems and creating new markets."
Aina added that the partnership goes beyond the provision of capital, noting that the EBRD’s involvement demonstrates increasing institutional confidence in Africa’s technology and innovation sector.
"Beyond the capital, the EBRD's participation signals growing institutional confidence in Africa's innovation economy and strengthens our ability to back ambitious founders building enduring companies that create value for Africa and the world," he said.
The EBRD’s participation also places it alongside other development finance institutions, international financial institutions and private commercial investors supporting Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II. Such participation is seen as an important boost for Africa’s venture capital ecosystem, which continues to attract growing interest despite challenges around access to funding and the ability of startups to scale.
Dirk Werner, the EBRD’s Managing Director of Equity, said the continent’s entrepreneurial activity is expanding, but venture capital availability remains relatively limited compared with the scale of opportunities.
"Innovation is increasingly shaping Africa's economic future, yet venture capital remains underdeveloped relative to the scale of entrepreneurial activity across the continent," Werner said.
He added that the investment would help create stronger financing channels for innovative businesses seeking to expand.
"By investing in Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II, we are helping to strengthen the market infrastructure that enables innovative businesses to access growth capital and scale their impact," he said.
The investment comes as the EBRD expands its activities in sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank began investing across five sub-Saharan African countries in 2025 and has committed €620 million to the region in less than a year.
The latest commitment underscores the growing role of institutional and private capital in supporting Africa’s technology sector, particularly at the early stages when startups often face significant difficulties securing financing. By backing venture capital funds such as Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II, investors can provide capital to a broader pool of innovative companies while contributing to the development of stronger startup and investment ecosystems across the continent.