P1 Ventures, an African-focused venture firm, closed its second fund with $25 million.
This financing originates from big African industrial conglomerates, private enterprises, funds, and U.S. and European global fund general partners. Founder and General Partner Mikael Hajjar expects P1 Ventures to finish fundraising early next year.
Mikael Hajjar and Hisham Halbouny founded P1 Ventures in 2020 to invest in e-commerce, fintech, health tech, and SaaS with a $11 million fund. The institutional venture fund plans to focus on these businesses and use AI with this second investment.
The Zambian firm Nkoloso.ai, which uses satellite imagery and AI to monitor agricultural land, is P1 Ventures’ first AI investment. Two AI startups and five portfolio firms are sponsored by the Dubai-based venture capital firm’s second fund.
Hajjar thinks AI in agriculture and FMCG shows Africa’s potential to bypass traditional infrastructure like mobile money did for debit and credit cards. AI also shows how African companies may create global products.
Hajjar says, “We think AI will be Africa’s next big leapfrog chance, just like how fintech changed the continent and the banking industry. AI will have the same effect on shopping, healthcare, and the creative economy.
He said the most exciting thing about AI is that it could be used worldwide. Also, investing in Africa often comes with risks related to working in a single market and dealing with changes in currency since the appeal of AI lies in its ability to help people start companies that focus on exports.
Hajjar also mentioned companies like Instabug, which started in Egypt, and InstaDeep, a part of BioNTech. Both are software and AI companies with roots in Africa that serve customers not just in the U.S. and Europe but all over the world.
Read also: Kenya-based Kotani Pay secures $2 million for internet-free remittances
P1 Ventures’ incubator and entrepreneur-in-residence programmes
P1 Ventures, which has offices in Lagos and Cairo, has just started a programme called “Entrepreneur-in-Residence.” The programme has made it easier for Nkoloso.ai to get money.
The two partners run this venture company using their many skills and years of experience as business owners. The studio’s long-term goal is to help grow four more startups over the next four years. These startups will be led by leaders who know how to find the right product-market fit and grow their businesses.
Hajjar told reporters, “We go off the beaten path and back the underdogs; we invest where no one else does.”
This highlights P1 Ventures’ first fund’s investments in French-speaking African startups like Yassir, a mobility startup that became a super app in Algeria; Chari, a B2B e-commerce platform in Morocco; and Djamo, a payment startup in the Ivory Coast.
These startups are the best-funded in their countries. Yassir, the company’s first investment, is one of Africa’s and the Middle East’s most valued companies.
Although P1 Ventures concentrates on seed-stage investments, it occasionally invests in Series A and B rounds. Yassir and Egyptian fintech MoneyFellows likely received lesser investments from P1 Ventures in later expansion rounds despite the first fund’s tiny size.
Hajjar credits the company’s institutional track record for this exceptional engagement. He also stressed how stage and geographical distinctions helped organisations gain follow-on funding, talent, and expansion strategies.
The General Partner at P1 Ventures noted the scarcity of African GPs with institutional track records, which helps the company establish category-defining enterprises. P1 Ventures chose Chari at pre-seed over more popular B2B e-commerce prospects in Egypt and Nigeria and MoneyFellows at Series A over other early-stage fintechs in Egypt at similar price points due to its expertise.
P1 Ventures also helped MoneyFellows secure Series B money from CommerzVentures, and Chari made many acquisitions over the previous two years.