Economy
OpenseedVC Launches $10m Fund for Seasoned Operators’ Startups
By Adedapo Adesanya
OpenseedVC, a new operator-led fund seeking to be the first investors in seasoned operators starting their technology companies across Africa and Europe, has officially launched, announcing the first close of its $10 million angel-style early-stage fund.
According to a statement, OpenseedVC will also invest mainly in the Future of Commerce i.e., B2B Software, AI and Fintech, Future of Health & Work to align the inherent impact of the portfolio with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The fund, backed by LPs such as founders, operators and HNIs across Africa, Europe and the US, will offer up to $150,000 starter cheques, along with access to its robust network of over 50+ seasoned experts, to support the operators just starting their technology companies from zero to one.
With global early-stage equity funding experiencing a significant contraction of as much as 54 per cent year-on-year (-33 per cent YoY in Africa), the OpenseedVC fund offers a much-needed opportunity for operator talent to access the support they need in an ecosystem which has a 45 per cent failure rate for VC investments.
The fund will primarily invest in founders in Africa and Europe and aims to invest in at least sixty start-ups over the next five years and operates an open application process so founders can apply without an introduction.
The fund has made its first two investments in the Future of Commerce and Health themes; the first is an AI-enabled supplier dispute resolution software in the United Kingdom and the second is a foundational speech-to-text transcription model for underserved accents, starting with Africa.
Founded by Ms Maria Rotilu, whose vision is to invest early in the growing number of experienced operators who aspire to launch their technology companies. She believes that OpenseedVC founders at the earliest stages get much-needed capital and conviction, but also the added benefit of a community of experienced operators to support from start to launch.
Ms Rotilu, an experienced operator turned investor herself, has gained extensive market expertise across both Africa and Europe through scaling multinational technology start-ups like Uber and Branch to millions of users, as Country Manager, and General Manager respectively, as well as investing in global companies as a Principal & Fund Manager of the Octopus Ventures First Cheque Fund. She also served as Managing Director at the Oxford Seed Fund of Oxford University, one of the leading producers of unicorns in Europe.
Speaking on the launch of OpenseedVC Fund, she said, “As an operator, and investor, I have encountered incredibly talented and experienced operators, and the challenges faced as they try to launch their startups. Operators have the advantage of domain expertise and unique insight into large problems that can be tackled with innovative technology. Those who are visionaries coupled with the ability to execute, scale, build teams and have the grit required to solve difficult problems — these skills, especially in the current market, are highly relevant to building technology start-ups that solve real problems and creating scalable value for the global economy and our investors. The experience seasoned operators bring in terms of business building, combined with the dynamism and hustle that founders possess, is the focus for OpenseedVC”
“The current difficult fundraising climate is especially harsh for early-stage founders, but we believe incredible companies are born in the most difficult macroeconomic climates. We want to be first believers in these experienced operators to give a great head start, with capital and an extensive operator network that support from start to launch of their technology companies,” she said.
Adding her input, Ms Maria Zubeldia, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, added, “We are proud to have played a role in Maria’s journey through her time as Managing Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre’s Oxford Seed Fund, which provides MBA students at Saïd Business School the opportunity to gain investment experience.
“Our goal is to foster a supportive ecosystem for exciting early-stage start-ups in which to develop and scale, and it is gratifying to see Maria carry this ethos forward with the launch of OpenseedVC. I look forward to following the development of the fund.’’
All applications to OpenseedVC will undergo the same evaluation process, and investments will be made on a rolling basis throughout the year.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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