Safaricom plans to set up two venture capital subsidiaries to invest in tech start-ups in Kenya
July 6th 2023
Safaricom had already launched an investment fund in 2014 called Spark Venture Fund. The fund initially invested $1 million in six Kenyan mobile tech start-ups. He received an additional $5 million in 2020 to invest in other start-ups.
Kenyan telecommunications company Safaricom plans to set up two venture capital firms to invest in early-stage and growth-stage Kenyan tech start-ups. The initiative will be subject to the approval of the company’s shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) on July 28.
This initiative is part of Safaricom’s strategy to fuel its growth over the next few years, in a context of accelerated digital transformation marked by the growing emergence of start-ups in Africa. The move is also part of the company’s ambition to fully transform into a technology company by 2025.
“ The formation of a company limited by guarantee to invest in early-stage start-ups, to support the development and growth of technology entrepreneurs and to build reputation and trust within the technology community in Kenya ,” Safaricom says in its special agenda for the AGM.
As a reminder, Safaricom has been managing an investment fund called Spark Venture Fund since 2014. The fund has invested USD 1 million in six mobile technology start-ups: Sendy, Lynk, Ajua, Eneza, iProcure and Farmdrive. In 2020, Safaricom allocated an additional $5 million to the fund to invest up to $500,000 in tech start-ups that are strategically aligned with its goals.
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