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Top 30 Gaming Angel Investors in Africa in November 2024

Last updated: Nov 2024 A list of 30 angel investors that invest in Gaming startups based in Africa. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Gaming companies from Africa. We update this investor list every month.

Top 30 Gaming Angel Investors in Africa in November 2024

Investor	Gaming Africa investments
Tayo Oviosu	3
Sandeep Nailwal	2
Enagwolor Johnny	1
Michael Jordaan	1
Tyler Scriven	1
Samson Larsson	1
Casper Johansen	1
Michael Chow	1
Ham Serunjogi	1
Juan Pablo Ortega	1
Sudeep Ramnani	1
Ayodeji Adewunmi	1
Samuel Z. Alemayehu	1
Bashar Hamood	1
Robert Herjavec	1
Karthik Ramakrishnan	1
Brian Corrigan	1
Ugochukwu Aronu	1
Vijay Pravin Maharajan	1
Nasir Jones	1
Ryan Bethencourt	1
Michael Cohn	1
Tim Draper	1
John Obaro	1
Bhavik Bajaj	1
Shola Akinlade	1
Maijid Moujaled	1
michael k sam k sam	1
Simon Borrero	1
Abdo Achkar	1

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Investor list

Tayo is the Founder & Group CEO of Paga (www.paga.com), Nigeria’s leading mobile money service. Prior to Paga, Tayo was Vice-President at Travant Capital Partners, a private equity fund in West Africa. Prior to joining Travant, Tayo was a Manager, Corporate Development, at Cisco Systems in San Jose California. Tayo’s work at Paga has beenrecognized globally - in 2014 CNBC selected Tayo as the Entrepreneur of the Year West Africa, and in 2015 the African Leadership Network selected Paga as the outstanding growing company of the year in Africa. Tayo is also the co-founder of Kairos Angels, an angel investment club.Tayo earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, cum laude, from the University of Southern California, and also has a Masters in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.

Investment focus

Financial Services, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology
Angel, Seed, Pre-Seed
Nigeria, Brazil, United States

Portfolio highlights

RELAYTO Content Experience Platform — RELAYTO converts your PDFs & presentations to interactive web experiences with instant branding, analytics & more
Tyms — Tyms online accounting software for your business connects you to your bank, accountant, bookkeeper, and other business apps. Start a free trial today. Also available in Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa.
Venco Platforms — Venco automates visitor management, billing, and collections, as well as smart utility vending for communities across Africa.

Sandeep Nailwal is the co-founder and COO of Polygon. Sandeep previously worked at Scopeweaver as the Co-Founder and CEO. He attended the Indian Institute of Management, Mumbai.

Investment focus

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Financial Services
Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
United States, India, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Fermah — Fermah can generate proofs for any instance in which ZK is used. Fermah is credibly neutral and architected to support all proof systems. This includes zkVMs, zkEVMs, Groth16, and all other proof systems. It is optimized for cheap, fast, and reliable ZK proof generation.
RISE Labs — The Gigagas Layer 2
OpenGradient — OpenGradient is a leading decentralized AI platform for open-source model hosting, secure inference, agentic reasoning, and application deployment. By developing tooling and a feature-rich platform that makes developing AI workflows both secure and seamless, OpenGradient empowers developers with the ability to build in its ecosystem of intelligentand optimized AI-empowered applications. With native model hosting, permissionless composability, and secure inference execution, OpenGradient also aims to accelerate open-source AI by democratizing model ownership, improving verifiability guarantees, and promoting censorship-resistant model access.Our heterogeneous AI compute architecture (HACA) and our proprietary library NeuroML scale secure AI workflows with features like inference, agentic reasoning, statistical analysis, and more. OpenGradient also accelerates open-source innovation with a web portal and SDK for Web2 developers to leverage our AI stack without navigating blockchain complexities, while enjoying the security and composability benefits of decentralized infrastructure.

Enagwolor Johnny is the co founder and president at Treepz. He attended University of Benin.

Investment focus

Delivery, Logistics, Mobile Apps
Pre-Seed
Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Jise — Jise provides restaurant food delivery services, connecting customers with local businesses.We are extremely passionate about transforming local businesses and dedicated to enabling new ways of working, earning, and living. By building the last-mile delivery infrastructure for local cities, Jise is bringing communities closer, one door at a time.It connects customers with their favorite local and national restaurants within Lekki Phase 1 for now. Marvelous Gbenro, Osazuwa Agbonze Jeremiah, Ibukun Olasupo, and Majid Tokurah came together to found the company in 2021. It is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.

Michael Jordaan, the former banker now heads up a private investment company, Montegray Capital and lends a strategic-hand to various businesses, including as Chairman of Wines of South Africa (WoSA), Chairman of consumer data buro, Compuscan and as Director on the JSE. Michael also actively invests as a partner in AngelHub Ventures, a SouthAfrican based Venture Capital Fund.In 2014 he co-founded a coding apprenticeship program, ProjectcodeX, to grow highly skilled software developers to fuel the digital economy.

Investment focus

SaaS, Education, Financial Services
Seed, Series A
South Africa

Portfolio highlights

VALR — Buy and sell bitcoin, ethereum & more | Pay anyone for free with VALR Pay
Snapplify — Snapplify is at the forefront of edtech solutions in Africa, and specialises in enabling digital learning for individuals and institutions via the largest digital educational marketplace in Africa. As a global edtech company, Snapplify strives for radical inclusion to level the playing field and equip individuals across emerging markets with theworld-class tools they need to collaborate, innovate and thrive. Snapplify’s technology is used in other educational products to facilitate collaboration throughout the educational community.Snapplify for Education’s award-winning platform is already a top choice for institutions integrating digital education into their classrooms. From software to support, Snapplify provides institutions with everything they need to create a secure, collaborative e-learning environment for students. Snapplify’s robust 24-hour-access digital-library solution offers thousands of free ebooks and widely applicable, curriculum-approved educational content supplied by partner publishers from across the globe. Snapplify’s diversity of device integration allows schools to use its products on the devices that they already have access to, without having to invest in costly digital infrastructure upgrades. Snapplify’s solutions are industry celebrated and globally recognised for their innovation in technology.In order to achieve its educational goals, Snapplify has built strong relationships with diverse partners around the growth of its ebook, e-textbook, and device catalogue, and partnered with international publishers and other key stakeholders to meet the demand for widely relevant, curriculum-compliant digital educational content. As a socially minded company, Snapplify is committed to supporting others and creating sustainable change through collaboration and innovation. Snapplify empowers, inspires, and uplifts teachers via Teacha! (a media hub, resource marketplace, and careers portal for educators); is the digital content partner on a project that delivers technology and e-learning to public schools in South Africa’s Gauteng province, and runs impact programmes through the Snapplify Foundation.Snapplify originated in South Africa, focusing initially on the South African education and digital content industries. Since its establishment in 2012, the company has grown and expanded into new markets in Africa and the United States, with offices across South Africa, as well as in Nairobi, London, Amsterdam and New Jersey. Snapplify is backed by AngelHub Ventures, a venture capital company backed by former First National Bank CEO Michael Jordaan and the Harris family, as well as international investors. In 2019, Snapplify secured $2 million expansion capital from venture capital firm Knife Capital, and empowered African investment manager Hlayisani Capital’s Hlayisani Growth Fund.Snapplify for Education’s award-winning platform is already a top choice for institutions integrating digital education into their classrooms. From software to support, Snapplify provides institutions with everything they need to create a secure, collaborative e-learning environment for students. Through Snapplify’s e-learning and digital library solution, Engage, educators can share teacher-created, multimedia resource materials with students; administrators can manage the access and permissions for multiple student and staff accounts; schools can host their own 24-hour access digital content library (which comes with over 50 000 free resources including study guides, e-textbooks, past exam papers for multiple curricula, children’s books in African languages and more); and students and parents can purchase prescribed e-textbooks. Snapplify’s diversity of device integration allows schools to use its products on the devices that they already have access to, without having to invest in costly digital infrastructure upgrades. Snapplify’s solutions are industry celebrated and globally recognised for their innovation in technology.
Real Time Wine — Share your wine moments. Real Time Wine is the social wine discovery app for everyone who enjoys wine, not just those who understand it. [In App Stores NOW!]

Tyler is an entrepreneur and early-stage technology investor. He currently serves as a Managing Director of Techstars Atlanta. Prior to joining Techstars, Tyler was a member of the senior leadership team at Palantir Technologies in Silicon Valley, where he served as Chief of Staff and Head of Operations. During his tenure with Palantir, he wasbroadly engaged in scaling the operations of the business from 100 to nearly 2,000 employees.

Investment focus

Financial Services, FinTech, Food Processing
Seed, Funding Round, Convertible Note
United States, Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Sequr — Cloud-based access control for a new era. Access control portal built for managing credentials, assigning mobile keys, & monitoring activity.
Landed — We help education, healthcare, and government employees buy homes by providing access to funds, trusted partners and guidance.
Farmcrowdy — Farmcrowdy is an agric-tech platform that gives Nigerians the opportunity to participate in Agriculture by selecting the kind of farms they want to sponsor. They use the sponsor’s funds to secure the land, engage the farmer, plant the seeds, insure the farmers and farm produce, complete the full farming cycle, sell the harvest and then pay the farmsponsor a return on their sponsorship. While this farm process is ongoing, the farm sponsors are able to keep track of the full-cycle by getting updates in text, pictures and videos.

Samson Larsson is the founder of Ayazona, a high-impact organisation in Kenya, enabling low-income households to access food and household essentials. Larsson is also the founder of Gretol, a startup connecting SMEs in EMEA to the blockchain infrastructure based on Hyperledger technology.

Investment focus

Delivery, Logistics, E-Commerce
Pre-Seed
Kenya

Portfolio highlights

Ayazona — Are you on a budget? Ayazona delivers affordable breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and more from the best local farmers, brands and stores right to your door.

Casper Johansen is a lawyer turned investment banker turned entrepreneur. He spent over 7 years in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs doing mergers & acquisitions, equity and debt financings, leveraged buyouts and advisory work for the world's leading companies and private equity funds. During his time at GS, Casperworked in the London and Hong Kong offices. He left as an Executive Director in mid-2008 to scratch his entrepreneurial itch. While at GS, Casper co-founded a Turkish furniture company and a China-based e-learning company. He also made angel investments in a Hong Kong based communications company and a Cambodia-based real estate fund. Casper continues to be an active angel investor in the Asian region. His most recent investments include a childrens' learning platform and a discotech.Casper is currently the CFO and COO of Seravia. Seravia was founded by Casper and his partners in 2008 in Hong Kong, and re-located to Beijing in March 2009. Seravia is the simplest way for anyone in the world to understand and create business records.Casper has a background as a First Lieutenant (R) in the Royal Danish Air Force and holds a BA in Law and a Master of Laws, LL.M. (magna cum laude) from Aarhus University, Denmark. He lives in Beijing with his wife and two children.

Investment focus

Blockchain, IaaS, PaaS
Seed
Nigeria, United States

Portfolio highlights

Nirvana Labs — Our mission is to make blockchain infrastructure economical and accurate, ultimately lowering the barriers to entry for Web3 engineers.
Metaverse Magna — Play the best games on the AppStore with friends & frenemies for prize money via PvP and multi-player eSport tournaments. Daily prize pools bigger than $1K.

Michael Chow is the Founder and CEO of Dart Technologies.

Investment focus

Financial Services, FinTech, Rental Property
Seed, Grant, Pre-Seed
United States, Kenya

Portfolio highlights

Teamble — Teamble dramatically improves how managers coach their people and how employees learn and up-skill. Teamble uniquely combines continuous feedback, performance, employee engagement, and learning & development in one AI-based platform, built to drive higher performance.
Boom — Boom is the easiest way to build credit credit with your rent. With Boom, report your rent payments to all three credit bureaus for as little as $2 per month. Enroll in minutes.
Tembo Health — Seniors deserve the very best care, no matter where they live. Tembo Health partners with nursing homes to provide residents with high quality telemedicine appointments in specialties like psychiatry, cardiology, and more.

Ham Serunjogi is a co-founder and CEO at Chipper Cash.

Investment focus

Mobile Apps, Financial Services, FinTech
Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
Nigeria, United States, South Africa

Portfolio highlights

Caliza — Give your users access to the digital dollar economy. Get early access!
Sudo — Sudo is an open API platform that enables businesses to embed powerful financial features into their products. Build in minutes, launch in days.
CreditChek — Bridging the trust gap between global credit businesses and underserved African consumers.

Juan Pablo Ortega is the Co-founder of Rappi. He previously worked as a Board Member at Viva Air. He attended Cornell University.

Investment focus

Restaurants, Financial Services, Banking
Seed, Series A
Brazil, Nigeria, Colombia

Portfolio highlights

Bacu — Bacu provides restaurant technology and offer a comfort food concept.
Trully — Trully
Chowdeck — Enjoy fast delivery from best restaurants near you. Order African food, Asian food, Pizza, fit-fam, Drinks from restaurants near you in Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere, Ogudu, Lekki.

Sudeep Ramnani is a Technology Entrepreneur and Investor

Investment focus

Credit, FinTech, InsurTech
Seed, Angel
Nigeria, United States

Portfolio highlights

Chowdeck — Enjoy fast delivery from best restaurants near you. Order African food, Asian food, Pizza, fit-fam, Drinks from restaurants near you in Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere, Ogudu, Lekki.
Finclusion Group — Enhancing financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa through data driven lending.

Ayodeji Adewunmi is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Dot. He previously worked at GOKADA as a President & Co-CEO. Ayodeji Adewunmi attended Obafemi Awolowo University.

Investment focus

Apps, Gaming, Mobile
Seed, Angel
Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

ChopUP — ChopUP, a division of Pledge51 Ltd is a leading mobile gaming startup in Nigeria developing locally relevant games that tell the African narratives. We are committed to consistently creating world class mobile games that are specifically designed with African themes.
Pledge51 — Pledge51 is a fresh mobile media company pursuing opportunities in Nigeria's mobile internet space. On Tuesday 29th May 2013, the company launched her social gaming platform; Chopup.Chopup is a social platform that allows mobile game players to interact based on in-game achievements. As part of the release of Chopup, the company alsolaunched Danfo Reloaded II; the first mobile game to come integrated with the Chopup Platform. The platform is unique because it caters specifically to Africa's mobile market which mostly consists of fairly basic devices and is only recently witnessing growing adoption of smart phones.The company's game/app portfolio has already crossed over 1 million downloads and growing till date.

Samuel Z. Alemayehu is the Founder and Chairman Of The Board Of Directors of Cambridge Industries.

Investment focus

SMS, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
Series A, Seed, Series B
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

SantéPhone — SantéPhone is a mobile-based health prevention platform founded in partnership with leading health insurance companies across West Africa. The application was powered by 4Afri Mobile.
Nextbillion.ai — Nextbillion.ai aims to deliver a wide range of AI-powered hyperlocal solutions starting with the area of mapping. Nb.ai is working on building the geospatial infrastructure needed for enabling location-based experiences for the next billion users. The complexities in markets like India, Indonesia, and Nigeria are far greater than the traditionaldeveloped countries and we are building the future of location technology. Underdeveloped infrastructure, the rise of megacities, complex addresses, and an ever-changing road network make things even more challenging and we are trying to solve these extremely complex problems using a combination of data, AI, platform, and people.
Cambridge Industries — Designing, constructing and operating extremely cost-competitive and scalable waste-to-energy facilities customised for Sub-Saharan Africa Cambridge Industries is a holistic waste management and renewable energy generation company, delivering leading technologies to address waste and energy deficiencies in Africa. They produce clean/greenenergy while solving waste-related problems by reducing the amount of waste going to landfills. Their goal is to turn one of Africa's most challenging social problems, the management of waste, into a source of new wealth. Cambridge’s 'Green Vision' is a comprehensive, sustainable, clean, and renewable power generation and waste management system designed specifically for African cities. Effective power generation and waste management are among the principal challenges faced throughout Africa, particularly in its rapidly urbanizing cities. Cambridge Industries provides local governments with an efficient, cost-effective solution to resolving power deficits while managing municipal waste, from garbage collection to the treatment and ultimate conversion of the waste to low-emission, renewable electricity and useful byproducts, such as recycled metals and building materials.

Bashar Hamood is the Managing Director and co-founder of FasterCapital and attended Heriot-Watt University. He has broad experience across various organizational domains, including marketing strategy, branding, direct marketing, product launches, analysis, and reporting. As an entrepreneur, he has expertise in brand development and communityoutreach. Bashar is skilled in optimizing team dynamics, aligning diverse agendas, and leveraging strategic and operational drivers to achieve results. He also has a strong analytical approach, carefully studying each case and parameter variation.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, E-Commerce
Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
United States, United Kingdom, India

Portfolio highlights

Tikkno — Tikkno is a dynamic and innovative company offering an extensive portfolio of 100 high-quality services across key sectors such as technology, marketing, education, training, management, and design. Our mission is to empower businesses and individuals by providing cutting-edge solutions tailored to their unique needs.In technology, Tikknodelivers comprehensive IT services that streamline operations, boost efficiency, and enhance digital transformation. From software development to cybersecurity, our solutions are built to keep businesses ahead in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.In marketing, we craft data-driven strategies designed to maximize brand visibility, engagement, and growth. Our team excels in digital marketing, SEO, social media management, and advertising, helping businesses connect with their target audiences effectively.Our education and training services focus on upskilling teams and individuals through tailored programs that combine industry-leading knowledge with practical application. We offer specialized training to ensure that clients stay competitive in today’s fast-paced environment.Management and design services from Tikkno ensure that businesses operate efficiently while presenting a strong visual identity. Our management consulting aids in optimizing workflows and strategic planning, while our design services deliver creative, visually compelling solutions that resonate with audiences.Investing in Tikkno means investing in a forward-thinking company that is dedicated to delivering measurable value, innovative solutions, and long-term growth. With a commitment to excellence and a proven track record of success, Tikkno is positioned to become a key player in driving business success across various industries.
Accel Growth — Accel Growth has created an amazing super oxygenation machine that uses a radical technique to supersaturate water with oxygen by forming new chemical interactions with the minerals in the water.
Intech Research Group — Welcome to the world of TROT FTRs. Empowering the world like never before. Opens up many new business opportunities. And opportunities for the businesses. The opportunities you can’t afford to miss. An ideal for investors. TROT FTRs enjoy huge potential to become a trillion-dollar business. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Robust, sustained revenuestreams. Saves on future inflation for the global households. Year after year, Plan your budget without worrying. Hedge your costs or sell the rights for a good profit. Save big on your vacation, buying a home, children's education, healthcare. And many more. Why not earn while hedging? Good returns. Anytime liquidity, High Safety. Buy, sell, redeem, gift – all from your home comfort. No brokers. FTRs sold by vetted, reputed businesses. Blockchain registered. Legally compliant. Many Govt. corporations may soon offer their FTRs. Tourism, healthcare, agriculture, real estate, education, lifestyle, and many others. Freely tradable on TROT Exchange. ideal investment for households and businesses alike. FTRs for HNIs as the Market Makers. Multiply your returns. Minimal risk. One platform to weave the world's largest and the best network of all the participants – from businesses to households to the service providers An ideal solution for businesses. Meet all your finance needs. No ownership sharing. Think big. Plus, a huge marketing boost. Market Maker support as the up-front buyers.

Robert Herjavec is the CEO at CYDERES.

Investment focus

Health Care, Pet, Consumer Electronics
Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
United States, Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

FreePower — FreePower is the next gen advanced wireless charging technology enabling product & solution innovators to create the charging experience their customers will love
Sweetkiwi — Home of the best tasting, mouth-watering, low fat, healthy froyo. Healthy Never Tasted Better!
THEMAGIC5 — THEMAGIC5 has reinvented the swimming goggle. THEMAGIC5 swim goggles fit perfectly. They are comfortable to wear and prevent leaking - custom fitted to you.

Karthik Ramakrishnan is an Engineering Executive @ Amazon Alexa.

Investment focus

EdTech, Banking, FinTech
Seed, Pre-Seed
Nigeria, India

Portfolio highlights

Chowdeck — Enjoy fast delivery from best restaurants near you. Order African food, Asian food, Pizza, fit-fam, Drinks from restaurants near you in Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere, Ogudu, Lekki.
Grey — Open international bank accounts for free to receive and make foreign payments instantly or convert currencies - all in one place.
Augmend — Create documentation and an AI assistant from any video.

Brian Corrigan is the VP and Head of Americas at PUBG Corporation. He attended Clarkson University and the University at Albany, SUNY. (This website is horribly out of date, probably best to hit my website or LinkedIn)

Investment focus

Gaming, Internet, SaaS
Series A, Seed, Angel
United States, Estonia, South Africa

Portfolio highlights

Powerspike — Powerspike is a new type of advertising network based on content creators - where any marketer can make their brand famous in a few clicks. Our Endorsement Serving technology automatically buys, executes, and optimizes content creator endorsements - replacing the traditionally lengthy process of RFP’s, human negotiations, and insertion orders.
Ready Player Me — The Ready Player Me platform leverages AI, ML , and a suite of developer-first tools to empower developers to integrate avatars into their games and apps to launch faster, improve user adoption, and grow revenue through asset monetization.
Carry1st — Carry1st develops and publishes enriching mobile games and content apps for African consumers.

Ugochukwu Aronu is the Co-Founder And CEO of Xend.

Investment focus

Drones, Energy, Delivery
Pre-Seed
Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Arone — Arone pioneers technology that makes the world work more efficiently.   In the air, Arone’s infrastructure enables hospitals access essential supplies on-demand for their patients. We also provide this infrastructure to logistics companies to enable a faster courier service for their customers. This infrastructure includes drones, dronedelivery stations (Avports), drone operators and license. For government institutions and organisations, Arone manufactures state of the art unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) saving lives and costs. For consumer electronics, Arone’s technology powers homes, offices and shops ensuring millions of people have access to electricity to live better lives.
Gamic — Gamic is a decentralized community app designed for the crypto community. With Gamic, you can connect with like-minded individuals and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in blockchain, NFTs, AI and cryptocurrency. Gamic is powered by Web3 technology, ensuring a secure and decentralized experience for all users. Plus, with our Airdrop feature, you can easily reward members of your community with crypto tokens. Join the Gamic community today and be a part of the future of social networking!

Founder & CEO - bitsCrunch | Entrepreneur | Angel Investor | TEDx Speaker | Blockchain & NFT

Investment focus

Blockchain, Web3, Internet of Things
Seed, Pre-Seed
India, United States, Panama

Portfolio highlights

ZeroLend — ZeroLend is a user-friendly and frictionless lending experience to onboard the masses to Defi. Built on L2s
Gamic — Gamic is a decentralized community app designed for the crypto community. With Gamic, you can connect with like-minded individuals and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in blockchain, NFTs, AI and cryptocurrency. Gamic is powered by Web3 technology, ensuring a secure and decentralized experience for all users. Plus, with our Airdrop feature, you can easily reward members of your community with crypto tokens. Join the Gamic community today and be a part of the future of social networking!
Moove Protocol — Charting a new era of decentralization.

Nas, byname of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, also called Nasty Nas, (born September 14, 1973, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.), American rapper and songwriter who became a dominant voice in 1990s East Coast hip-hop. Nas built a reputation as an expressive chronicler of inner-city street life.Nasir Jones, the son of a jazz musician, grew up in public housingin Queens, New York. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and searched for a creative outlet, finally settling on hip-hop. His breakthrough came in 1992, when his song “Half Time” (credited to Nasty Nas) appeared on the sound track to the film Zebrahead. Columbia Records soon signed him to a contract. His debut recording as Nas, Illmatic (1994), drew widespread acclaim for its poetic narration of hard-edged inner-city life.The more pop-oriented approach of It Was Written (1996) helped that album reach an even wider audience than its predecessor but ignited a recurring tension in Nas’s career between the appetite of the pop audience and the demands of hip-hop purists. He maintained his commercial appeal with I Am... (1999), although by that time he had also become embroiled in a public feud with fellow rapper Jay-Z over which of the two was the preeminent voice in East Coast hip-hop. The schism inspired Stillmatic (2001), which many fans considered a return to form. The two rappers publicly settled their differences in 2005, and shortly thereafter Nas signed with Def Jam, of which Jay-Z was president at the time.Nas’s penchant for provocation marked Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and an untitled follow-up (2008), while Life Is Good (2012) struck an introspective tone. He also notably collaborated with reggae musician Damian Marley (the youngest son of Bob Marley) on the album Distant Relatives (2010).Nas also made occasional film appearances, notably in Belly (1998), a crime drama in which he starred opposite rapper DMX, and Black Nativity (2013), an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s gospel play.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Internet, Software
Seed, Series A, Series B
United States, Canada, Brazil

Portfolio highlights

Magic Spoon — Magic Spoon cereal is high-protein, low-sugar, keto-friendly, and gluten-free. Available in Cocoa, Frosted, Fruity, Blueberry, Peanut Butter, and Cinnamon.
Everyrealm — Leaders in metaverse innovation and development.
Altered State Machine — Altered State Machine, aims to be a platform and protocol which any developer can build on it; can create, own, and compete with AI-based agents (bots) and upgrade and train their AI, buy, and sell them as NFTs. This will bring an evolution for NFTS.

Ryan is a co-founder and CEO at Wild Earth and a co-founder and Partner at Sustainable Food Ventures, bringing years of experience in leading, building and advising high-growth food and biotechnology companies. Ryan is a biotech entrepreneur, investor, and one of the founders of the biohacker movement. He’s a co-founder and former Program Directorat IndieBio and has invested in over 130 early stage biotech startups and served as the head of life sciences at the XPRIZE Foundation. As an ethical vegan, Ryan is passionate about the future of biology as a technology, applied across all industries to solve some of humanity’s most intractable problems. Ryan fosters dogs for Rocket Dog Rescue and is passionate about mindfulness, meditation, and mentoring. His work at the interface of science, food, and business has been covered by many major publications.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Food Processing, Food and Beverage
Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel
United States, Chile, India

Portfolio highlights

WTH Foods — WTH Foods is a plant-based alternative protein company based in Manila, Philippines. Using local and sustainable ingredients, we create plant-based versions of processed meat products that Southeast Asian love
Sobo Foods — Sobo Foods is a plant based comfort food provider.
Libre Foods — MEAT, BUT MAKE IT MUSHROOMS. GET READY TO TASTE THE POWER OF FUNGI

Michael Cohn serves as a Managing Partner at Overline VC. He attended Emory University - Goizueta Business School.

Investment focus

Software, Farming, Information Technology
Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
United States, Israel, Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Farmcrowdy — Farmcrowdy is an agric-tech platform that gives Nigerians the opportunity to participate in Agriculture by selecting the kind of farms they want to sponsor. They use the sponsor’s funds to secure the land, engage the farmer, plant the seeds, insure the farmers and farm produce, complete the full farming cycle, sell the harvest and then pay the farmsponsor a return on their sponsorship. While this farm process is ongoing, the farm sponsors are able to keep track of the full-cycle by getting updates in text, pictures and videos.
Monetizr — Turn gamers' attention into revenue for your brand through targeted in-game mobile ads. Partner with Monetizr and get access to audiences across the globe.
LEAF — LEAF is the first smartphone controlled, automated home grow system for medical plants and food. Learn more about Leaf and buy here.

Tim Draper is the Founding Partner of Draper Associates. He attended Harvard Business School.

Investment focus

Software, FinTech, Financial Services
Seed, Series A, Series B
United States, United Kingdom, Canada

Portfolio highlights

GALY — Saving Our Planet by Transitioning the World to Cellular Agriculture
Buupass — BuuPass is Kenya's market leader for online bus booking. We enable travelers to reserve seats and make payments in a convenient and timely way. Try BuuPass today!
Zest Protocol — Zest Protocol enables users to put their Bitcoin to work. Earn more BTC, or borrow against your BTC.

John Obaro is a distinguished alumnus of both Ahmadu Bello University, University of Lagos, and the Chief Executive Program (CEP3) of Lagos Business School. He has served at various times on the Boards of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Information and Communication Technology, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ComputerProfessionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Governing Council of the National ICT Incubation Program (iDea), and many more.He is a fellow of the Center for African Policy Development and Research, Glasgow, Scotland; a Fellow of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS); an ex-member of the Governing Council of Computers Professionals (Registration Council) of Nigeria (CPN) – the highest industry practice regulatory body; and immediate past 1st Vice President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON). John Obaro was recently recognised with the honour of Leadership in Technology at the 2016 African Achievement Awards in Scotland and also recognised as the ICT Software Personality of the Year 2016 at the Beacon of ICT (BoICT) Award, in addition to other numerous indigenous and international awards he has received over the years.John Obaro’s successful entrepreneurial adventure in software development architecture has attracted and continues to attract attention from both local and international quarters. The prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS) of the Pan-Atlantic University has written two case studies on SystemSpecs while many newspapers, magazines and journals have also featured him at one time or the other.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Marketplace, Food and Beverage
Seed
Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Vendease — VendEase is a marketplace that lets restaurants in Africa, order supplies directly from farms and food manufacturers. Think of us as Amazon, but for food businesses.

Bhavik Bajaj

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, SaaS
Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel
United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland

Portfolio highlights

Asepha — Asepha is an AI clinical decision support (CDS) tool to help healthcare professionals make faster clinical decisions.
ORA Technologies — E-Commerce, Super App
THIRUMALS PAPER ARIZONA PVT. LTD. — TRADING PLATFORM OF PULP , PAPER & PACKAGING

Shola Akinlade is the Co-founder and CEO at Paystack.

Investment focus

FinTech, Education, Financial Services
Pre-Seed, Seed
Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda

Portfolio highlights

Chowdeck — Enjoy fast delivery from best restaurants near you. Order African food, Asian food, Pizza, fit-fam, Drinks from restaurants near you in Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere, Ogudu, Lekki.
Earnipay — Earnipay simplifies business operations with a single dashboard. From high-yield accounts and flexible credit options to efficient payments, payroll processing, and on-demand pay, streamline your financial operations and drive your business growth.
Afropolitan — Afropolitan is building a Network State to unleash the maximum potential of Africans around the world. Are you interested? Join us with your email.

Maijid Moujaled is a co-founder and president at Chipper Cash.

Investment focus

FinTech, Gaming, Mobile
Seed, Series A
Nigeria, South Africa

Portfolio highlights

Caliza — Give your users access to the digital dollar economy. Get early access!
PayHippo — PayHippo is making it easier to finance small and medium sized businesses in Africa. There is a need for financing of $158 bn for SMEs in Nigeria alone. To start, PayHippo helps SMEs access and spend lender capital effectively. During their first full operational year in 2020, the PayHippo co--founders leveraged their domain expertise and foundingexperience to beat their 2020 goal by 50%.
Carry1st — Carry1st develops and publishes enriching mobile games and content apps for African consumers.

michael k sam k sam

Investment focus

Web3, Gaming, Software
Seed
Nigeria

Portfolio highlights

Gamic — Gamic is a decentralized community app designed for the crypto community. With Gamic, you can connect with like-minded individuals and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in blockchain, NFTs, AI and cryptocurrency. Gamic is powered by Web3 technology, ensuring a secure and decentralized experience for all users. Plus, with our Airdrop feature, you can easily reward members of your community with crypto tokens. Join the Gamic community today and be a part of the future of social networking!

Simón Borrero is a Co-Founder & CEO at Rappi. He attended MIT Sloan School of Management.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Mobile Apps, Information Technology
Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
Colombia, Brazil, United States

Portfolio highlights

Bacu — Bacu provides restaurant technology and offer a comfort food concept.
Wizzer — Wizzer is an AI-driven parenting copilot that provides guidance through highly personalized multi-modal conversations.
Chowdeck — Enjoy fast delivery from best restaurants near you. Order African food, Asian food, Pizza, fit-fam, Drinks from restaurants near you in Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere, Ogudu, Lekki.

Abdo Achkar is the Founder & CEO at Sowlutions.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Marketplace, Software
Pre-Seed, Seed, Series B
United States, Lebanon, Japan

Portfolio highlights

GoBEBA — Shell Afrigas 13KG Cooking Gas Refill
uPaint — Discover uPaint, premium paint by numbers kits for all ages. We craft all components in-house, ensuring top quality. Customize any image to create your own masterpiece. It's the perfect, thoughtful gift idea that's stress-free and easy for everyone. Experience a relaxing and joyful activity with stunning results.
Ur My Type — Ur My Type is an app that uses personality types to make dating and finding friends online more meaningful.

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