Flourish Ventures Widens Net To Set Up Shop In Kenya

The Kenyan fintech startup scene is set for a boost after Flourish Ventures, a London-based Venture Capital, today announced its arrival into the Kenyan venture capital space in a move to invest in Kenya’s growing appetite for fintech innovations.

The firm, which invests in entrepreneurs whose innovations help people achieve financial health and prosperity, moves into the scene making Kenya the first country in East Africa where it has established a footprint. Currently, the firm has a portfolio of a dozen startups located in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya that includes Apollo Agriculture, Fair Money, Financial Services Innovators (FSI), Flutterwave, Lendable, Pula, and Paga.

Arjuna Costa, the Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures, expressed his optimism in the move to establish operations in Nairobi due to the strength of Kenya’s fintech industry off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We believe that Africa is on the cutting edge in the development of innovative and groundbreaking fintech solutions globally, and we are delighted that our Nairobi office will give us greater access across the continent,” said Costa.

This announcement was also bundled with the appointment of Efayomi Carr as Principal, who will manage the company’s operations in Nairobi. “Efayomi has a strong network in Africa and will work closely with Kenyan entrepreneurs building tools and services for fintech – with a special emphasis on embedded finance and insurtech,” said Mr. Costa on Carr’s appointment.

“Flourish Ventures is a deliberative and thesis-driven investor that wants to achieve real and broad impact across all of our investments in Africa. I am excited to be taking part in the growth of African fintech and innovation and I am optimistic that the continent will continue to give is pleasant surprises,” said Carr.

Carr also expressed his optimism in opening the office in Africa due to the strength of the continent’s fintech industry coming off of the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I am excited to take part in the growth of our firm’s African presence and am optimistic that African fintech entrepreneurs will continue to deliver real results and make a positive financial impact for consumers and small businesses,” he added.

This news will be a boon to Kenyan fintech startups, who according to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA), account for nearly 20 percent of total early-stage investments in African startups. The total venture capital for African startups grew to $1.31 billion in 2020, up from $1.27 billion according to the Bitter Bridges think tank.

In 2020, Flourish released the South African edition of its global research survey – The Digital Hustle: Gig Worker Financial Lives Under Pressure – which tracked the experiences of gig workers who use digital platforms such as e-hailing or delivery apps in an effort to learn more about how these essential workers were faring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report found that 76% of the 600 surveyed gig workers experienced a large decrease in income since March 2020.

Apart from monetary support, Flourish Ventures also partners its entrepreneurs with experts in Data Science, Fraud & Risk, Finance & Operations, Human Capital, Legal, Marketing & PR, Product Management, and Strategy. Overall, venture capital is focused on leading in the creation of a financial system that empowers people and where business models that serve people’s interests succeed over models that exploit them.