NEXT PHASE: WADSON FUND I

Wadson Ventures is seeking to launch its first open Fund.

Wadson Fund I will build on the experience of Wadson Ventures which has been providing support to early stage impact driven entrepreneurs in East Africa over the last 5 years.

The new fund will expand the reach and impact to more entrepreneurs.

Social Mission :  To support impact driven enterprises that solve key social, economic and environmental problems in Africa, driven by Africans.

WHY DO STARTUPS NEED OUR HELP?

• Entrepreneurs with innovative ideas at the very early stage face a variety of problems that hinder or slow down their capacity to grow and maximize their profits and social impact.

• Few impact investors are willing to provide patient capital to early stage African startups focused on the poor, creating a gap in funding for social enterprises pioneering new models of inclusive business.
• Most of the support and funding coming into Africa goes towards start-ups founded by non-black Africans, even though operating in Africa.

• Beyond investment capital, startups lack the distribution networks, consumer trust, and local know-how needed to take smart, informed risks and successfully deliver innovative solutions that combat poverty.

• Even with the right investment and technical support, early stage startups struggle to provide end-user financing solutions to make their products and services truly affordable to low income customers.
• Non tech Small and Medium Enterprises are mostly neglected by traditional venture capital.
• Traditional financing in terms debt from financial institutions is hardly available to startups and SMEs, and if available, its very very expensive to make any meaningful impact.

Investment Information

Manifesto: Focus on the entrepreneur beyond just the business, Support beyond the financing, Locally founded startups.

A mix of high risk capital to high growth focused capital via SAFEs, Convertible Debt and Equity; and traditional stable SMEs via Debt and Revenue Share that will help reduce the Fund’s overall risk.

Early stage: 1st or 2nd institutional investor in Pre-seed, Seed, A and B and evergreen investments to maintain ownership

Sectors: Smart startups and growing SMEs in sectors solving economic, social and environmental challenges for masses of people. Key sectors- renewable energy, healthcare, hospitality, retail, agriculture and food security, education, consumer focused products, fintech among others.

Location: East Africa for first few years – markets that are growing fast.