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
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, influenced by increasing demand in China, the world’s largest buyer, as well as developments in Europe and Syria, with Brent crude futures closing at $72.19 per barrel after chalking up 5 cents or 0.07 per cent while the US West Texas Intermediate finished at $68.59 a barrel after it gained 22 cents or 0.32 per cent.
China will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy in 2025 as the world’s largest oil importer tries to spur economic growth. This would be the first easing of its stance in 14 years.
Chinese crude imports also grew annually for the first time in seven months, jumping in November on a year-on-year basis.
Speculation about winter demand in Europe also contributed to the rise in prices as the period has been known for high demand.
In Syria, rebels were working to form a government and restore order after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, with the country’s banks and oil sector set to resume work on Tuesday.
Although Syria itself is not a major oil producer, it is strategically located and has strong ties with Russia and Iran – two of the world’s largest oil producers.
Market analysts noted that the tensions in the Middle East seem contained, which led market participants to price for potentially low risks of a wider regional spillover leading to significant oil supply disruption.
The market is also looking forward to the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to make a 25 basis point cut to interest rates at the end of its December 17-18 meeting.
This move could improve oil demand in the world’s biggest economy, though traders are waiting to see if this week’s inflation data derails the cut.
Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 499,000 barrels for the week ending November 29, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 1.30 million barrels.
For the week prior, the API reported a 1.232-million barrel build in crude inventories.
So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by roughly 3.4 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
Also, the market is getting relief from the recent decision of selected members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ to delay the rollback of 2.2 million barrels per day of oil production cuts to April from January. Another 3.6 million barrels per day in output reductions across the OPEC+ group has been extended to the end of 2026 from the end of 2025.
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