Seedstars Capital and Swiss-based philanthropy Fondation Botnar have launched a fund named Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures targeting people below the age of 30 years in low and middle-income countries.
The $20 million fund will, according to the two entities, focus on youth-managed companies that are striving to make a difference in sectors such as health, environment conservation, water and sanitation and food security.
Moreover, Botnar and Seedstars will identify and facilitate scaling of startups in Africa through capital from their network of investors.
Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures will seek to attract like-minded investors to bring further investments to Africa through purpose-driven companies in their early stages.
The countries set to benefit from the initiative include Tanzania, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and Morocco- as per a statement from the initiative.
Future of Seedstars, Fondation Botnar partnership
In his statement, Benjamin Langer- a partner at Seedstars Capital- noted that he was upbeat that the collaboration will achieve the goal of driving meaningful impact in emerging markets across the continent.
“Together, and with the added strength of our co-investor network, we will identify, invest, and scale innovative companies with the potential to transform the lives of young people across our key markets,” Langer stated.
On his part, Venture Philanthropy Lead at Fondation Botnar Antoine Veyrassat, underscored the importance of the collaboration noting that the investment was in line with Botnar’s commitment of elevating young people.
“Fondation Botnar is excited to join Seedstars in supporting companies that are making a difference,” he noted.
“Our shared commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of young people aligns strongly with our investment strategy that takes a market-based approach to philanthropy, especially as rapid urbanisation and the increasing number of young people living in cities present both unique challenges and opportunities.”
So far, the partnership between Botnar and Seedstars has bore fruits after their first ever joint-investment in Senegal’s Chargel, a start-up which offers logistics solutions by linking shippers with transporters.