What To Know As El-Rufai Floats $100m Firm

What To Know As El-Rufai Floats $100m Firm

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, announced on Monday that his venture capital/private equity firm, Afri-Venture Capital Company Limited, is set to commence operations in 2024.

In a post on X, El-Rufai expressed his intention to use the firm to finance, nurture, and mentor Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs with the aim of creating the next Dangote Group.

He outlined plans to launch a $100 million venture capital fund specifically for startups in Nigeria, with a focus on those in the Kaduna tech ecosystem.

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The former governor also revealed collaborations with private sector partners, including Eyo Ekpo, the co-founder of Excredite Consulting Limited, among others.

“I can confirm that our VC-PE firm, Afri-Venture Capital Company Ltd will by the Grace of God, begin operations initially in Abuja in January 2024 with Jimi Lawal, Hafiz Bayero, Eyo Ekpo and Kabir Yabo as founding directors and initial shareholders. I am privileged to be the part-time Chairman of the Board.

“Please, pray for our success and the Nigerian (and in the near future African) innovators and entrepreneurs we hope to finance, nurture, and mentor to be the Dangote Group of the future,” the former governor wrote on X.

El-Rufai had withdrawn from public activities following the Senate’s rejection of his ministerial nomination in August.

Other nominees who faced rejection included Stella Okotete, a former Managing Director of Nexim Bank (Delta State), and Abubakar Danlandi, a nominee from Taraba State.

Abbas Balarabe was appointed as a minister, replacing El-Rufai after the Senate’s rejection of his nomination.

However, discussing his new venture and future plans, El-Rufai emphasized the importance of mentoring and financing for Nigerian youths to attain the breakthrough they require.

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“What young people need is essentially mentoring and financing to get things going. They develop the idea and see whether it is viable. And we will open doors for them because they don’t have contact.

“They don’t know or have access to ministers, presidents, or regulatory agencies. We do. We know the minefields that they have to navigate. We know that they need to give them appointments and we can provide them with the startup funding and in return we take an equity position.

“We don’t want to take your business; we want to develop it. But if we take the risk on you, we will take a percentage of the business,” El-Rufai told BusinessDay in Marrakech, Morocco, in November during the Africa Investment Forum.

According to the report, El-Rufai is willing to stake $2 million of his money for the offtake of the fund and plans to convince investors to provide the remaining funding.

“The investors will mostly be those who believe in us but don’t have the capacity or the time to do the analysis and evaluation. But they trust our judgment and they will come with us,” El-Rufai said.

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