Yes, it’s true. In the midst of a global pandemic and during shelters in place, I kicked off my efforts to raise a vc fund in May 2020. Because I know the road is long to eventually work with institutional investors, I decided that with folks much more willing to take a video call, the pandemic was a good time, ironically, to forge those relationships. I kept having conversations and those conversations led to multiple meetings. I can no longer say that I hate networking. The pandemic made me love it. I joined Lunchclub, Clubhouse, and 100 Women in Finance. I learned a ton. Now 15 months later, I am doing my first first close! As I reflect on the process to prepare for the second close, I am basking in this milestone. It’s a huge moment in my career but it is an even bigger win for Africa.
Now by 2021, I had been in a lot of meetings by global pandemic standards. One of those meetings was with The Afropreneur himself, Idris Bello. I’ve followed Idris for a long time on Twitter. I knew his work. But I knew his partners, Marsha Wulff and Michael Oluwagbemi, a little bit better. I wanted to make an introduction to LoftyInc and they told me that I needed to speak with Idris. So I did. A couple months later, I find myself in Abuja to meet Michael at the LoftyInc office discussing an opportunity to join them with their new Fund.
Even though I was born in California, Nigeria was always called home. I always knew that I would invest there. That call has become more possible with FM Capital Group and the small checks we are able to deploy. But LoftyInc is one of the most prolific investors on the continent. They’ve been investing in Africa since 2009. They started one of the first tech hubs in Nigeria, Wennovation Hub in 2011. I did my first investment in Uganda in 2012. The Partners have been together for over 11 years. I’ve been a solopreneur for 6 years now. So when they gave me the opportunity to join a TEAM, and THIS is the team I get to join?!? I literally get to learn from the trailblazers. It was a no-brainer. In fact, it is an honor and a privilege.
I’ve been working with LoftyInc for 4 months now on the LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3. I can’t wait to talk more about it, especially from an operations perspective. What a journey it has been! And this is only the beginning…
