Firm, USNC Unveils Fund for Entrepreneurs, Start-ups

In a bid to boost the capacity of Africa’s entrepreneurs, Ventures Platform in partnership with the United States-Nigeria Council (USNC) have set-aside a fund aimed at supporting Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Particularly, the Ventures Platform – USNC corporate leaders fund will target post minimum viable products (MVP) companies, investing up to $250,000 initially, with the potential to increase it.

Also, it will give Nigeria’s established organisations the opportunity to participate in the next wave of companies that will define the country’s future.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of a recent investment and technology summit held at Silicon Valley in the United States (US) to promote Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem.

The Nigerian delegation to the summit was led by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, during which the agreement was signed in the U.S.
Speaking about the partnership, the Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, Kola Aina said, “We are really excited about the opportunity to get Nigerian corporations and corporate leaders involved in supporting the inevitable future, and we’re pleased to have such an important organisation as the US-Nigeria Council join us to make this journey possible.”

With the participation of select corporate partners, leaders and executives of major Nigerian organisations and members of the US-Nigeria Council, Aina said that the funds were aimed to supporting them with smart capital to power growth.
He explained that investee companies would be strategically aligned with objectives of the fund’s corporate backers who are primarily members of the US-Nigeria Council.

In his own response, USNC Executive Director, Eliot Pence, said: “We see the partnership with Ventures Platform as an important step towards USNC’s mission of advancing US-Nigerian commercial relations. The fund will further align the interests of corporations with entrepreneurs and investors. Ultimately, our goal with this partnership is to deepen, diversify and develop the commercial activity in the tech ecosystem and accelerate investor outcomes. We’re thrilled to work with Ventures to advance that.”