Lateral Capital, an Africa focused Venture Capital fund investing in early and growth stage tech-enabled businesses across Africa, hosted a knowledge sharing networking evening with key ecosystem stakeholders at the Capital Club, Lagos on 18th July 2019.
The panel which consisted of Etop Ikpe (CEO, Cars45), Rolayo Akhigbe (SVP and Divisional Head, Transaction Banking at FCMB), Adia Sowho (CEO, Mines.io) and Oluseye Soyode-Johnson, (Innovation Expert, Ericsson) led a riveting discussion to answer the question: What does a promising start up look like?
Topical issues explored include: What investors look for in startups, How startups can partner with corporates, Issues faced by founders, Understanding team dynamics and Fundraising.
“At Lateral Capital, we believe that achieving true scale requires collaboration across the ecosystem. Consequently, ecosystem facilitation via discussing key learnings and fostering partnerships is a key focus for our firm”, said Ochuwa Akhigbe-Ogionwo, Operating Principal and lead for West Africa.
Lateral Capital focuses on key verticals that address critical infrastructure needs across Africa including financial services, healthcare, education, housing, agriculture and clean energy access. The $50m fund has invested in 9 promising businesses across the continent including Appzone, Koko Networks, 4G Capital and Lynk and it is looking to directly support more entrepreneurs.
Images from the event
