Ushahidi’s Juliana Rotich has joined Africa Technology Ventures, a US$50 million venture capital fund, as Venture Partner.
The Fund will be based in Nairobi and Lagos, and it brings together a team of experienced international and local tech entrepreneurs, investors and advisors.
The move follows several discussions and meetings with Eline Blaauboer and Mairead Cahill, managing partners at Africa Technology Venture, who have had experience investing in East Africa with the Safaricom Spark Fund, the East Africa Venture Capital Association, and solar energy startup M-Kopa.
In a statement on her blog, Juliana adds that ATV would focus on what is needed to help propel startups in Africa to the next level.
Juliana is the Executive Director of Ushahidi and an advisor to the iHub in Kenya. She has had experience as an advisor to startups, and she adds in the statement that her new role will help her tackle and help fill the gaps in financing that she has identified along the way.
The ATV fund is seeking to raise investment and create an enterprise development facility that will invest in and support the growth of tech-enabled startups in East Africa and Nigeria that have the potential to scale and create value in key sectors. These include Agriculture, Consumer Services, Education, Energy, Financial Services and Healthcare.
