Toyota Tsusho Invests in Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures
- To support African startups and accelerate the pursuit of our business synergies in Africa. -
- Africa
2022-08-12
Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") announced today - 12 August 2022 - its commitment to invest in Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures ("VKAV"), which is managed by Verod-Kepple Africa Partners ("VKAP"). This investment aims at supporting startups and pursuing opportunities for business synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group in Africa.
VKAV is the first fund launched by VKAP, which is a joint venture between Verod Capital Management Limited, a private equity fund with a track record of investing in and supporting the growth of small and medium-size enterprises and startups in Africa, and Kepple Africa Ventures, a venture capital firm that actively invests in African startups. VKAV plans to make investments of 100 million USD in the five years from 2022 to 2026 in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue businesses bringing about transformative change by addressing difficult challenges across various industries on the continent.
Toyota Tsusho, together with its subsidiary CFAO SAS, established Mobility 54 Investment SAS ("Mobility 54"), a corporate venture capital firm dedicated to investing in and financing mobility-related startups in Africa, in October 2019. Since its establishment, Mobility 54 has invested approximately 28 million USD (as at the end of July 2022) in 14 startups, and is expanding its investment activities accelerating the MaaS business in Africa and seeking to solve social issues faced by the mobility sector.
In April 2021, Toyota Tsusho also invested in Samurai Africa Fund 2 Investment Partnership, a fund managed by Samurai Incubate Inc., promoting scouting for startups, including those in fields other than mobility.
This new investment is aimed at sourcing for startups in the healthcare, consumer goods, carbon neutral and other fields and pursuing business synergies with Toyota Tsusho Group and Mobility 54.
Toyota Tsusho will contribute towards solving social issues in Africa, based on the "WITH AFRICA FOR AFRICA" philosophy that seeks to grow with the people and communities of Africa, along with the business expansion.
Overview of Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures
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Management company
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Verod-Kepple Africa Partners (A joint venture between Verod Capital Management Limited and Kepple Africa Ventures). |
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Target fields
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Transportation & mobility, medical & healthcare, retail & consumer goods, carbon neutral energy, logistics, fintech, education, etc. |
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Target areas
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Across Africa |
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Total fund amount (planned)
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100 million USD |
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Investment period
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2022 to 2026（5 years） |
<Our Efforts So Far>
- April 15, 2021 announcement: Toyota Tsusho Decided to Invest in Samurai Africa Fund 2 Investment Partnership - Fund to be used to scout for startups in Africa -
https://www.toyota-tsusho.com/english/press/detail/210415_004810.html
- August 22, 2019 announcement: Toyota Tsusho Group establishes new investment company for MaaS/CASE in Africa- Accelerating next mobility strategy in Africa -
https://www.toyota-tsusho.com/english/press/detail/190822_004466.html
The information in this release is current as of the date of announcement.
Please note that information may change after the date of announcement. Thank you in advance for your understanding.