Participated · Seed · Oct 2025

Founded in 2023 by engineers Abraham Mohammed and Mubarak Popoola, Rana Energy operates a Virtual Solar Network (VSN) that uses artificial intelligence to aggregate and manage distributed solar and storage systems. The company sells clean-energy subscriptions to commercial customers with no upfront capital requirements, delivering 99.9% uptime and about 30% power-cost savings. To date, Rana has deployed 1.3 MW of solar capacity for clients including the National Defence College in Abuja. Its software coordinates generation, storage and demand, giving customers a seamless alternative to diesel and grid electricity. Rana plans to scale its network to 10 MW within the next 12 months and expand operations beyond Nigeria into Ghana and Zambia. The model positions the firm as an infrastructure-light, recurring-revenue utility for underserved African businesses. Financial traction metrics beyond installed capacity were not disclosed.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2023

Snowstorm began as the open-source Snowflake pluggable transport for Tor and has been rebuilt to run standalone and outside Tor, with a Rust rewrite to improve speed and cross-platform support. The software connects users to volunteer brokers via WebRTC and domain fronting, enabling millions of sessions daily and relying on roughly 100,000 people acting as temporary brokers. Snowstorm’s upgrades aim to remove previous bottlenecks, support system-wide use, and enable streaming video performance. The company plans to launch an open beta this quarter and will use new funding to continue product development rather than heavy marketing. Founder Serene—who taught herself to code, was hired by Google as a teenager, and was the first engineer at Google Ideas (now Google Jigsaw)—leads development and remains focused on building the core technology.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2023

Shuttlers operates a bus‑sharing platform focused on corporate commutes and individual riders, offering scheduled routes, live bus tracking, optimal routing, digital payments and ride schedules. Launched by CEO Damilola Olokesusi in 2016, the Lagos‑based company runs nearly 260 buses across about 300 routes in Lagos and Abuja and serves 80+ corporate clients. It sells over 9,000 tickets daily, claims 70,000 users (about half have ridden), and reports 3 million B2B trips to date. The startup has three payment plans for companies and individuals, with fares ranging from N850 (~$1.96) to N1300 (~$2.60). Shuttlers says it has cut commuters’ carbon footprints by 85% (about 4 million pounds of CO2) and processed over $1M in transactions prior to its seed. The company plans to build infrastructure to scale its mass transit business, expand into five more Nigerian cities next year, and ramp up hiring in sales, marketing and customer support. Shuttlers operates an app-based platform that lets commuters book seats on scheduled bus routes, offering live bus tracking, optimal routing, digital payments and a subscription feature for recurring rides. The company sells B2B2C, B2B and B2C plans, supplying employers with shared staff transport as well as individual ticketing. Shuttlers claims commuters pay up to 80% less than other ride-hailing services and highlights environmental benefits from reducing cars on the road. Since launching (app revamp in 2019) it reports over 10,000 users, 100+ buses across 30+ routes and 300 stops, more than 2 million trips and over 6,000 tickets sold daily. The founder says the business is profitable while raising this seed round. Shuttlers is planning rapid expansion across Nigeria and into West Africa and Ghana, and has already begun operations in Abuja and acquired a similar player in Ghana.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2022

Kukua is an educational entertainment company best known for Super Sema, a 10-year-old African girl superhero series that teaches STEAM themes and aims to provide positive African female role models. Super Sema launched on YouTube Originals in March 2021, has attracted more than 40 million YouTube views, and targets children aged 4–8, with 60% of its audience from the U.S.; the U.K. and Kenya are the next largest markets. The series was executive produced by Lupita Nyong'o, who is also a shareholder, and received an NAACP Image Awards nomination for Outstanding Animated Series. Kukua has expanded distribution to major African linear broadcasters and premiered a second season this month. Planned initiatives include a U.S. toy line with Just Play, a companion vlog called Let's Technovate with Super Sema, expanded North American publishing and licensing with Penguin Random House, Bendon and Bentex, and potential Roblox/metaverse experiences. The company appointed Matthew Ball to its board to support interactive and immersive IP expansion and recently raised $6M in Series A funding to accelerate these plans. Kukua creates locally inspired edutainment content and apps aimed at improving literacy across Africa, beginning its franchise rollout in Kenya. Its flagship property centers on Sema, a young African girl protagonist, and combines storytelling with phonics-based literacy methods and gamification. The company’s first app, SEMA Run, is used by roughly 30,000 children three times a week for an average of 30 minutes. Kukua is part of the Founder’s Factory edtech accelerator programme. Founder Lucrezia Bisignani has described the company’s commercial opportunity as monetising a single media property at a 360° scale, citing comparisons to major global franchises. Kukua positions itself at the intersection of education and media as it builds a multi‑format franchise and licensing strategy.

Led · Equity · Aug 2021

Trade X operates an AI-driven vehicle marketplace (the TRADE X ‘Brain’) that connects buyers and sellers, aggregates global pricing analytics, and automates compliance, payments, inspection, transport, customs, retitling and other cross-border processes. The platform lets users search, post vehicles for sale, request specific vehicles, access arbitrage opportunities, obtain trade financing and transact in their chosen currency via mobile, tablet or desktop. Trade X handles quality checks, international payments, logistics, homologation, customs clearance and speedometer conversion, simplifying previously manual cross-border transactions. The company intends to use the new funds for acquisitions and global expansion across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Financially, Trade X completed an additional US$10.0M equity round at a US$250.0M pre-money valuation and earlier raised US$35.0M in equity from Aimia Inc.; it also closed a US$50.0M senior secured revolving credit facility (with an accordion to US$100.0M). The business is led by Founder and CEO Ryan Davidson and EVP/COO Luciano Butera and is based in Toronto, Canada. TRADE X operates a 24/7 global B2B platform that simplifies buying and selling pre-owned vehicles across international borders via mobile, tablet or desktop. The fully integrated marketplace handles compliance, insurance, payments, transport, logistics, retitling, customs clearance and other cross-border requirements and stands as a third-party escrow. Its proprietary 'Brain' technology uses machine learning and AI to power search, global pricing analytics, trade financing, arbitrage opportunities and user onboarding. Users can post vehicles, request specific inventory, transact in multiple currencies, and benefit from instant local-currency seller payments and strict license/compliance verification. For the 12 months ending December 31, 2020 TRADE X reported gross vehicle sales of C$65 million; gross vehicle sales for the six months to June 30, 2021 were C$77 million and the company generated positive EBITDA. TRADE X plans to use new capital for strategic acquisitions and to expand its cross-border platform to dealers, fleets, rental and mobility providers, and importers/exporters across multiple continents.