Antler East Africa: Investing in Early-Stage Startups

The Company Builder Model: A Deep Dive

Distinguishing themselves from traditional incubators and accelerators, company builders are entities focused on originating startups internally, leveraging their own concepts and assets. This approach involves assembling teams – often comprised of individuals who have not previously collaborated – including designers, developers, and marketing professionals, to construct a new venture.

Antler: A Hybrid Approach

Antler exemplifies this model, though it operates with a blended strategy. Alongside its company-building activities, it functions as an early-stage venture capital firm.

The organization actively facilitates the formation of well-rounded co-founding teams. It also delivers substantial assistance in refining business models and offers a worldwide network to support business expansion.

To this point, Antler has provided investment and support to over 250 companies. A significant 40% of these ventures feature at least one female co-founder.

Furthermore, the founders represent a diverse range of backgrounds, hailing from more than 70 different nationalities.

Global Presence and Funding

Established in 2017 by Magnus Grimeland, a seasoned entrepreneur, alongside a team of experienced investors and company builders, Antler has secured over $75 million in funding.

This capital is deployed to support entrepreneurs operating within nine key entrepreneurial ecosystems globally.

These hubs include major cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Nairobi, New York, Oslo, Singapore, Stockholm, and Sydney.

Antler’s African Operations

Antler maintains its sole African office in Nairobi, which is uniquely managed and led entirely by women.

Key Leadership in Nairobi

Marie Nielsen, the founder of Penda Paper Recycling, an Ethiopian paper recycling enterprise, currently serves as a partner at the firm.

Prior to her role at Antler, she spearheaded the establishment of McKinsey & Company’s Addis Ababa office as an associate partner.

Melalite Ayenew functions as the firm’s tech partner, bringing expertise gained from Oracle, Bain & Company, and Princeton Consultants.

Selam Kebede holds the position of director, overseeing operational aspects. Her background includes experience with several venture capital firms and organizations dedicated to entrepreneurship support.

Transforming Experienced Professionals into Startup Founders

Much like other global hubs, Antler East Africa conducts two cohorts annually. The organization prioritizes a people-centric strategy, assembling professionals who typically possess around 10 years of experience within their fields. These individuals, transitioning into the role of founders, engage in the processes of ideation, refinement, and the development of solutions.

These solutions are generally rooted in the insights gained or challenges identified during their previous professional careers. Following a six-month incubation period, the firm provides investment to teams demonstrating strong potential. Antler typically provides $100,000 in pre-seed funding, securing a 10-20% equity stake in each chosen team, with East Africa consistently receiving a 20% share.

A Thorough Investment Process

Nielsen explained to TechCrunch that their approach is highly involved, allowing them to shape business models and conduct comprehensive due diligence before making any investment decisions.

This due diligence is bolstered by the extensive global Antler network, drawing upon the expertise of over 400 specialists across diverse technologies and industries. Post-investment, Antler East Africa continues to support its portfolio companies as they begin operations and seek further funding from subsequent investors.

Ayenew also noted the firm is considering investments in existing, early-stage startups that were not initially developed within their program, provided they can still add significant value beyond financial support.

Focus on Pan-African Solutions

As Antler’s sole African office, the Nairobi-based team actively seeks founders tackling challenges and developing solutions relevant to the entire African continent. The program has successfully attracted founders from over 15 African nations, fostering a naturally pan-African perspective within each cohort.

To date, Antler East Africa has invested in a diverse portfolio of technology companies spanning B2B, B2C, and direct-to-consumer sectors. These investments encompass emerging fields like robotics and artificial intelligence, as well as established areas such as health tech, fintech, and proptech. Six startups have received investment from the last two cohorts.

Portfolio Highlights

Cooked provides a meal kit subscription service, offering weekly and monthly deliveries to customers on scheduled days. The founding team brings over two decades of combined experience in finance, food service, and the restaurant industry.

UNCOVER is dedicated to establishing itself as the leading skincare brand and content platform in Africa, collaborating with premier skincare laboratories in Korea. A survey of 1,000 Kenyan women informed their strategy, enabling the development of targeted products and engaging knowledge platforms.

Recognizing challenges faced by small traders, ChapChapGo addresses the lack of accessible and affordable e-commerce tools tailored to the Kenyan market. The platform facilitates online transactions with streamlined invoicing, automated reconciliation, and swift M-PESA checkouts.

Anyi Health aims to enhance access to financial assistance for primary healthcare. In Nigeria and many other African countries, patients are often detained or left untreated due to inability to pay medical bills. Anyi Health proposes a mobile-based credit facility, allowing patients to apply for financing directly at the point of care.

The company recently initiated a pilot program with three hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria, and is seeking $300,000 in seed funding based on initial results.

AIfluence is an AI-powered influencer marketing platform. Founded by seasoned advertising professionals, AIfluence empowers brands in Africa to optimize their influencer marketing strategies, from campaign launch to performance evaluation. The company has secured contracts valued at over $600,000 with both international and African clients, including Sony and Safaricom.

Digiduka is positioned as a digital service solution for Kenya’s cash-based economy. The company identifies two key obstacles hindering wider adoption of payment solutions in Africa: high transaction fees, reaching up to 9%, and inconvenient payment methods.

Leveraging over 15 years of collective experience with leading African telecommunications companies and as technical leads for various startups, the CEO and CTO aim to create a unified digital services platform for consumers and smaller retailers in Kenya.

The next Antler East Africa cohort begins in April. Kebede expressed their hope that by uniting talented and experienced individuals to build exceptional businesses in Africa, they can foster organizations that are innovative, sustainable, and inspire others to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions.