Uncovered Fund, a VC firm targeting early-stage startups in Africa, announced today that it has launched its $15 million fund which is expected to close at the end of June this year. The Tokyo-based outfit founded by Takuma Terakubo in 2019 will invest $50,000 to $500,000 in African startups in seed and Series A stages.

Before Uncovered Fund, Terakubo was the CEO of Leapfrog Ventures. Together with Japanese startup incubator, Samurai Incubate, they launched Samurai Incubate Fund; a fund focused on early-stage African startups. During his time there, the firm raised more than $4.5 million targeted at startups in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. It also financed over 10 startups with checks similar to Uncovered Fund’s ($50,000 to $500,000).

Terakubo doesn’t say why he left Samurai Incubate Fund. But according to him, Uncovered Fund’s investment methodology is different from his previous firm because it doesn’t bring only money to the table.

“We do not make scattered, one-shot, small investments, but rather we provide long-term growth support, including follow-on investment. In addition, we not only invest, but we also multiply the huge assets of Japanese companies to grow the business and provide technical support …read more

Source: Tech Crunch