Ring Capital, a French VC firm, is set to launch an impact investment fund, Ring Africa, with French-speaking West African countries as her target. The investment fund is said to be pumped into startups with strong social and environmental focus. The VC will target investments from the pre-seed to Series A stages.
Ring Africa plans to raise a €50 million fund for startups focused on building solutions that solve the continent’s climate change problems, facilitate the region’s transition to a formal economy, and facilitate high agricultural productivity.
The fund will collaborate with Mstudio to identify the difficulties of investing in the region while implementing plans to build a local investment team based in Abidjan. A report says every investment activity will spur from Mstudio, a startup studio headquartered and founded in Abidjan in 2023.
Speaking with Leslie Ossett, the Co-founder of Mstudio, he said, “We are not here to reinvent the wheel. We work on business models that have worked very well in English-speaking Africa. We’re not here to do Facebook 4.0 or Instagram 2.0. We’re just here to do proven business models,”
Mstudio co-founders Cedric Mangaud and Leslie Ossett, who have previously co-founded Saviu Ventures and BuuPass, plan to replicate successful business models in Anglophone Africa.
So far, Mstudio has invested in more than eight startups in fintech, ed-tech, and social commerce, focusing on startups that aid high productivity in the region’s informal sector, which employs 95% of Africa’s working-age populace.
Cedric Mangaud, Founder of Mstudio, said, “We are very pleased to partner with Ring Capital for their African fund, an initiative that marks a positive turning point for the Francophone Africa technology ecosystem.
“This partnership highlights our shared commitment to inclusive and sustainable economic development, focusing on the positive impact of startups and technology in transforming the sub-region”.
To achieve a successful business model in francophone countries, Ring Capital announced Elisabeth Moreno, the former Delegate Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities, as President of its board.
Thriving to play her role well, Moreno assured us that she would support the growth of Ring Africa and Ring Capital’s commitment to feminization and inclusion.
