Top 5 Venture Capital Startup Investors in Kenya

Last updated: Aug 2024 A list of 5 angel investors and VC funds that invest in Venture capital startups based in Kenya. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Venture capital companies from Kenya. We update this investor list every month.

Top 5 Venture Capital Startup Investors in Kenya

Investor	Venture Capital Kenya investments
ARCH Emerging Markets Partners	1
Federico Pirzio-Biroli	1
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	1
Jim Villanueva	1
Helena Riese Harstad	1

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Investor list

ARCH is a specialist emerging markets investment advisor with deep experience of emerging markets, private equity, asset management and legal and governance matters over many decades.

Investment focus

Solar, Finance, Consumer
Series D, Debt Financing, Private Equity
Kenya, South Africa, United States

Portfolio highlights

CrossBoundary — CrossBoundary Energy's renewable energy solutions help decarbonize enterprise by providing cleaner, cheaper and more reliable power.
Sun King — Sun King solar lanterns and home systems enables underserved communities to achieve more with inclusive distribution and flexible financing options.
The Sun Exchange — The Sun Exchange is the peer-to-peer solar leasing marketplace. We leverage financial innovation and the power of the crowd to drive sustainable energy development and make the environmental, social and economic benefits of solar accessible and affordable for all. Through the Sun Exchange online platform, anyone, anywhere in the world, can buyremotely-located solar cells and then lease them to power businesses and organisations in sunny emerging markets. Solar cell owners earn income from the electricity that’s generated, while schools, businesses, clinics and other organisations gain access to affordable clean energy, reducing electricity costs and carbon emissions.

Fede started out as an angel investor in 2010. His portfolio quickly grew, so he built a team around him and thus Playfair Capital was born. We have since gone on to become one of Europe’s most active and well-known early-stage VC funds. Before becoming a technology investor Fede worked for several NGOs in Africa, with a particular focus on aidtransparency. He recently renewed his focus on Africa by relocating to Kenya and becoming an angel investor in East Africa’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. He maintains an active role at Playfair and continues to lead our investment team.

Investment focus

Non Profit, Software, Venture Capital
Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
United Kingdom, Kenya, Sweden

Portfolio highlights

Bibblio — Conversion optimization, powered by AI. Increase user engagement, grow revenues and drive new audiences, for stronger site metrics and ROI.
Brewbot — Brewbot is dedicated to the wonderful world of beer and beerbrewing
Purple Elephant Ventures — We are Africa's first venture studio focusing on the travel & tourism sector. Our aim is to build businesses that will lead Africa's tourism industry to a greener future

The premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide

Investment focus

Software, Biotechnology, Internet
Seed, Series A, Series B
United States, Kenya, Israel

Portfolio highlights

Bench IQ — Bench IQ is an AI-powered assistant for elite law firms and corporate and government litigators that want unparalleled reconnaissance on the key players in their legal battles: judges and attorneys. The astute lawyer knows anticipating the potential outcomes of a case based on the facts and law is as uncertain as predicting the winner of a chessmatch from the arrangement of pieces and rulebook. In both cases, you must know who’s playing.
Ducky — Ducky improves your team's efficiency with automation that helps customer support agents respond to tickets faster and more accurately.
SingleFile Technologies — SingleFile Technologies automates secretary of state filings with our cloud based, filing platform using AI technology. From business formations to foreign qualifications, and many other filing documents, the SingleFile platform saves time, eliminates confusion, and reduces cost.

Jim Villanueva - Investment Director, Managing Director, Global Partnerships Social Venture Fund @ Global Partnerships

Investment focus

Agriculture, Energy, Travel
Series A, Series B, Seed
Kenya, Uganda, Zambia

Portfolio highlights

Treasure8 — Through our commercial partnerships and USDA-patented dehydration technologies, Treasure8 transforms food streams and food waste into nutrient-dense elements that can be enhanced, shaped, shipped, and enjoyed almost anywhere and when needed most.
Good Nature Agro — Their priority is to generate lasting income with small-scale farmers. They build local community leaders into qualified Private Extension Agents (PEAs) who oversee and train farmers throughout the growing season. They support PEAs to provide frequent trainings and personalized recommendations on how their growers can make their field healthier andmore productive. PEAs promote improved farm practices and deliver a farmer-friendly loan of seeds and additional inputs. At harvest, Good Nature is a guaranteed market for the certified legume seed that their growers produce. Choosing to produce these high-value crops over traditional cash crops - maize and cotton - more than doubles their income.
Purple Elephant Ventures — We are Africa's first venture studio focusing on the travel & tourism sector. Our aim is to build businesses that will lead Africa's tourism industry to a greener future

Helena Riese Harstad is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Optimizer Foundation. She previously worked at SBAB Bank as a Project Specialist. Helena Riese attended Stockholm University.