ImpactAlpha, September 12 — Fatoumata Ba launched Janngo Capital at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2020 to help bridge the capital gap for Africa’s women entrepreneurs.
The Abidjan- and Paris-based fund is looking to raise €60 million ($60.6 million) for startups working to overcome market failures and create jobs for women and youth in healthcare, logistics, financial services, retail, food and agriculture, mobility and the creative economy in Africa.
Half of the fund will go toward women-founded tech startups, as well as businesses benefitting women. Janngo will write checks of up to €5 million, and each investment will be mapped against the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
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Investors in the fund include the European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Proparco, Burda Principal Investments and German family-owned media conglomerate Muller Medien.
Janngo’s first venture capital fund has backed 11 tech startups, including Nigeria’s informal trade platform Sabi and Jexport, a global logistics tech venture that specializes in imported and exported goods in Africa.
More than half of the portfolio is women-led, Ba said, and more than half are focused on francophone West Africa.
