Launch Africa Ventures

Climate action is reshaping the global economy. Consumers are shifting towards climate-friendly products. Governments, aiming for net-zero, are shifting policy and committing billions of dollars to climate action. New technologies, processes, and energy sources are being developed, revolutionizing markets and redefining country resource endowments. Carbon markets are flourishing, fostering new business models and sectors, while facilitating large-scale deployment of low-carbon solutions. Africa is inherently well-positioned to tap into new climate-related business opportunitiesIntrinsic Competitiveness: Africa has abundant affordable land, untapped renewable energy potential, and a growing, increasingly skilled workforce, all of which are key cost drivers of climate action. Africa’s soils are also weathered and often acidic, offering significant opportunities for regenerative agriculture. Readily Available Opportunities To Tap Into Carbon Revenues: By prioritizing low-carbon business models, and incorporating carbon revenue, existing African businesses can drive affordability, amplify sustainable practices, and empower local communities, addressing climate change and providing global climate solutions. Potential For And Urgency Around Co-Benefits: Socio-economic challenges drive significant potential for co- benefits in Africa. Many actors with the capability, experience, and (community) connections to realise co-benefits have the opportunity to transform their business model to reduce dependency on philanthropic funding. ACV identifies opportunities to develop climate-smart businesses on the African continent following three key modelsTechnology Transfer to Africa: Identify leading global businesses with exciting carbon technologies, then bring them to Africa. Leverage our deep knowledge of Africa to develop appropriate entry strategies for applicable technologies, and build effective teams to launch businesses across the continent. Scaling Out Successes Across Africa: Identify home-grown African climate tech businesses that are gaining traction in the market in which they were developed and help them rapidly accelerate into new markets, leveraging local know-how and relationships, and augmenting typically overstretched management teams. Adding carbon revenues to business model: Identify businesses on the continent with under exploited carbon potential (e.g., electro moto manufacturers who are not monetizing their carbon). Provide skills and capabilties to add carbon revenues to these businesses, increasing profitabilty, adding value, and speeding growth. How We Work Sometimes we develop a concept ourselves and attract the right founder, sometimes we find a founder with a great idea. In all cases, we roll up our sleeves, iterate and improve on concepts, continuously inject capital as key milestones are met, and leverage our networks and expertise to give the business the best chance of success.

Pléiade Venture est une Société de Capital Risque Française. Elle investit sur le long terme, sans horizon de sortie prédéterminé. Elle soutient les entreprises innovantes de tous secteurs, hors biotech. Elle dispose de plus de 100 M€ d'actifs et investit de 0,5 à 3 M€ par opération. Elle est financée par des entrepreneurs qui forts de leur expérience désirent contribuer activement à de nouveaux succès. Elle est animée par une équipe en liaison étroite avec une vingtaine d’entrepreneurs contributifs. Nos différencesEvergreen: Pléiade Venture, à la différence des fonds, investit ses fonds propres et réinvestit ses plus-values, sans horizon de sortie prédéterminé. Actionnaire stable et pérenne, Pléiade Venture s’adapte au projet long terme de l’entrepreneur. Contributif: Notre capital est constitué d'entrepreneurs issus de secteurs variés. Ils réinvestissent une partie de leur patrimoine et partagent leur expérience avec les dirigeants de nos participations. Un quart de nos actionnaires sont d’ailleurs les fondateurs d'entreprises que nous avons financées. Galaxie: Pléiade Venture s’inscrit dans un ensemble de structures indépendantes : Pléiade Investissement (Capital Développement, LBO et retournement) Pléiade AM (Fonds d'actions cotées) autour d’une idée commune : « Faire ensemble, et faire autrement, ce que nous ne ferions pas seuls ! ». Nos CritèresStade: Seed, Series A Secteurs: Tous sauf : Biotechnologies, Entertainment, Immobilier Montant: 0,5 M€ à 3 M€, Seul ou en coinvestissement

“Spero” is Latin for hope. We help founders build a hopeful future. We’re a team of former startup founders, operators, and investors from landmark companies including eBay and Tesla. We invest in determined founders building mission-driven technology companies in three focus areas: wellbeing; sustainability; learning, work, and play. We prefer to lead or co-lead a $3-$10M round (late seed or Series A). Our typical check is $2-$4M, and we reserve capital for follow-on. We are conviction-based investors who play the long game. How We Work With YouWe have the conviction to lead and price your round. We participate in follow-on funding and help with subsequent fundraising. Our concentrated portfolio approach allows us to engage deeply with our founders. We’re supportive throughout the life of a company. Every one of our founders has full access to the entire Spero Ventures team. We know some ideas take time to catch on, so we offer patient capital. We are calm and steady partners in uncertain times. We help companies scale to serve billions of customers. We’ve done this as operators and founders, and as advisors and board members. We connect our companies to a network of founders, advisors, coaches, domain experts, and executive talent. We build community by bringing founders and leaders together through our CEO Summits, Product Leader Summits, founder breakfasts, workshops and thought-provoking events. We offer expert-led workshops that help founders with brand/storytelling, sales/go-to-market, consumer growth, and fundraising. Our focus Wellbeing Agency over physical and mental health People deserve to be in control of their own physical and mental health. For that, they need new kinds of information and access to care. What devices, apps, tools and services will help people live longer, healthier, more vibrant lives? How can genomics help us better understand our world and ourselves, and contribute to new solutions? Companies that answer these questions will make life worth living. Sustainability Protecting and preserving our planet Life is worth living on a healthy planet. But many of the largest systems we rely on - water, food, energy, transportation, product production and waste - were designed in a way that’s unsustainable and detrimental to our personal and planetary health. The economic, social, and health impacts of climate change and industrial pollution are growing too large to ignore: unprecedented droughts, fires and floods have disrupted millions of lives and result in billions of dollars of loss each year. How can we develop safer, more efficient systems? What can we do to improve power grids, recycling, environmental monitoring and disaster analytics? We invest in sustainability with conviction. Learning, Work, and Play Freedom in work and life Savoring relationships, art, joy, and laughter makes life worth living. Today, the way we do these things is changing. We can now learn, work, and play in hybrid ways that suit individual needs. This means self-directed learners need access to education and job preparation. Likewise, self-directed workforces need freedom, flexibility, and the ability to manage their goals. How can we provide better access to rewarding, satisfying work? What tools and support systems do people need to thrive? We invest in powerful visions for the future of learning, work, and play.

Only together can we create a better world for every living person. Every small action you take can have a profound ripple effect on vulnerable communities that experience the world with a level of hardship that Europeans are lucky enough never to have to go through. In Africa, entrepreneurs face tremendous challenges. Aside from meeting basic needs like food, water, and education, entrepreneurs face an uphill battle to build a tech startup. This is where we can help. Counder has feet on the ground since 2018, arriving with just hand luggage and an idea for a pioneering ecosystem that will propel African entrepreneurs to achieve the level of success that European business leaders have enjoyed. SEON, the startup revolutionising security in Africa, is proof that the bridge between German engineering and local talent, including sales experts that understand the fine details of doing business in Africa is a winning combination. Ubuntu Another key element of that winning combination is the African mindset. Ubuntu is a great expression that explains this mindset. It means I am because we are. In Africa, passion, hope, and togetherness are the traits that will foster the next wave of innovation. We can’t do great things alone. And at the heart of the digital revolution is the mobile-first generation. This tech-savvy, ambitious, youthful workforce is ready to build and they are hungry to solve some of the nation’s biggest problems. There are countless problems that technology can overcome that will improve the quality of life for Africans. African e-entrepreneurs are already transforming the agricultural sector through digitalisation. And mobile and digital technologies have helped boost financial inclusion in Africa significantly in recent years. However, more than half a billion people still live without access to electricity. New power system innovation (technology, policy, business models, etc.) can shape a socially inclusive energy transition for the continent. These are just some of the areas where tech entrepreneurs can have a real impact. Diversity At Counder we are multidisciplinarians focused on where we can have the biggest impact. We are architects, mathematicians, engineers, artisans, line workers and much more. A shared purpose brings us together. Our lofty goal is to build a knowledge bridge that will connect proven entrepreneurs and international investors in Europe with ambitious local talent in Africa. This connection between the raw high potential of Africa and the established know-how of European business leaders will unlock tremendous opportunities of which the continent has never seen before. To solve real problems and sustain life on our planet it is urgent and imperative that we tackle existential threats like climate change, hunger and pandemics as a diverse team. This won’t work if we continue to work in isolation. Now is our chance to generate a momentous impact that will reshape life in Africa as we know it.

500 Global is a venture capital firm with more than $2.7 billion in assets under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies. We focus on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth. We invest far and wide, across sectors and geographies. 500 Global’s Southeast Asia family of funds have backed over 270+ companies, including $1B+ companies Grab, Bukalapak, Carousell, Carsome, and FinAccel. This is just the beginning – we are actively growing to serve more founders, as well as connect startups with capital, expertise, and global networks to help them succeed. To uplift people and economies through entrepreneurship We believe these will be the growth areas in Southeast Asia, and actively invest in the region’s most talented entrepreneurs shaping the future. Sustainable Cities Cities are the lifeblood of Southeast Asia which we believe will be home to almost 400 million people by 2030. Can technology transform our cities into environmentally sustainable havens through innovations in energy, transport, waste management, food and agriculture? Can these cities bring us closer in a safe and empathetic way? Rural Digitization The story of cities is only part of the story. Can we include and uplift the rest of our region and seize the rural technology opportunity? Can we build solutions that help leapfrog rural development and provide people with the same access and conveniences as cities? Fintech for All The digital economy depends heavily on financial infrastructure to connect us together. We believe financial technology and embedded finance can usher in a new era of financial inclusion and returns, from smoothing income volatility, access to credit, to insurance that matters. Can we architect a financial-savvy world where no one is left behind? All-Commerce Ecosystem e-Commerce of the past decade seems to have expanded into “all-commerce” where consumers demand to buy anything, anywhere (whether online or offline), and have delivered to their doorstep anytime they choose. What innovations in global trade, logistics, supply chains and trust are needed to make this a reality? Human & Machine Productivity Technology can profoundly impact a nation’s future through increases in productivity and GDP. Likewise, we believe competition is also making technology adoption among MSMEs and large enterprises a necessity. Can ed-tech, machine middleware, low and no-code software solutions, SaaS platforms, and other innovations build more resilient economies? Healthcare & Self-care We believe healthcare is often overlooked and underinvested, until it is too late. The recent pandemic has underscored the importance of taking care of ourselves. To us, this “self-care” extends beyond just the body and also into the mind and spirit. How will technology help us take care of ourselves and each other holistically? Web 3.0 The internet is ripe for evolution, and users are discovering unprecendented ways to own, sell and trade digital assets. What do we need to create a new and completely decentralized ecosystem that’s safe and inclusive The Creator Economy Independent creators are building successful businesses through sharing their knowledge, skills and creativity. We believe this will be the main way we teach, learn, and entertain each other, and more importantly, grow together. How can technology help creators foster more authentic connections with people? Our expertise is local We have team members across Southeast Asia who bring experience as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators from leading technology companies. A regional investment strategy based on diversification and scale Across 500 Global’s Southeast Asia family of funds, we invest in founders building technology companies that drive economic growth in fast-growing markets in the region. In doing so, we provide investors with both diversification, scale and returns. Our goal is to back the best wherever they’re based. Our early stage funds typically invest US$250,000 to US$500,000 in founders based primarily in or serving Southeast Asia. After our wire reaches you, our team becomes your first call for strategy, capital growth, marketing, and all-things company building.

As capital becomes a commodity with more early-stage investors flocking to Africa, what will make us stand out will be our networks, relationships, and reputations. What we look forLarge Markets: A clear market opportunity that is massive and growing, captured through a scalable business model. We aim at reaching sustainable impact across a large audience by addressing deep markets, or investing in market-creating innovations. Scalable Economics: Tech-enabled businesses with proven, highly leverageable and defensible revenues, coupled with the ability to improve unit economics through cost and capital efficiency are able to achieve top-trend growth more easily than less efficient business structures. We are disciplined in ensuring the unit economics of the business we invest in are sustainable and attractive. Strong Agile Teams: We are looking for founders that combine strategic vision and executional capacity. Strong teams tend to be bound by a cohesive, inclusive, all-hands-on deck culture. We are seeking founders and teams guided by a clear value proposition and differentiated position in the market. Repeatable Growth: Solutions with highly replicable growth models and transferable problem-solution sets can most benefit from our growth investment and market expansion facilitation. As African markets are not uniform, we carefully model and test solution-market fit. How much funding will you get? If you are an African founder of a tech enabled startup that is solving a significant African development challenge please apply here. If you have little or no revenues, we will refer you to our Angel Fund for $10k to $100k funding consideration. If you have meaningful revenues with high growth potential, we may invest $50k-$250k.