New Delhi, June 8 -- Venture-capital fund 3IF Ventures, which is focussed on making a social impact by backing startups in Africa's insurance sector, has marked the first close of its inaugural vehicle the Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund.
The fund, which was set up late last year and which has a target corpus of $30 million (around Rs 287 crore), has collected $12 million in the first close. It will make equity investments in pre-seed to Series B to early-stage businesses across Africa.
Its limited partners (LP) in the fund include names such as FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), the investment arm of UK-backed development finance organisation FSD Africa; and ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company), a pan-African reinsurance organisation.
Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund plans to build a portfolio of about 15-20 portfolio companies, with ticket size ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 (around Rs 2.4 crore to Rs 7.1 crore). Its cheques beyond Series A are likely to be greater than $1 million, according to its website.
The fund looks to back startups that help expand insurance access and awareness in the continent, particularly in areas such as climate resilience, health and financial inclusion.
"Reaching first close with FSD Africa Investments and ZEP-RE on the same cap table is a market signal: impact and private capital are now investing in the same insurance technology pioneers," said a statement issued by Anthony Chaillet and Dr. Mario Wilhelm, General Partners at the fund.
"With a pre-qualified pipeline of fifteen insurance ventures across ten African markets, we are ready to deploy capital," it added.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.