500Startups: Venture capital firm looks to make first tech investment in Nigeria

The investor is seeking to add Nigerian assets to 10 investments it already has all across the African continent including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

500Startups, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm with over $175 million in investment-ready funds, is seeking its first investments in the Nigerian tech space as Africa’s most populated country encourages industries to reduce their reliance on oil.

The firm “would like to invest in at least one to two Nigerian tech companies in the next year,’’ Andrea Barrica, venture partner at Mountain View, California-based 500Startups, said Wednesday according to a report by Bloomberg Business.

 

Nigeria’s “big population and increasing access to technology and payments’’ make it an attractive market, Barrica said.

The investor is seeking to add Nigerian assets to 10 investments it already has all across the African continent including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

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500Startups is the latest venture-capital firm to show interest in investing in Nigeria with Boulder, Colorado-based TechStars saying last week it’s seeking opportunities in the Nigerian information and communication technology industries.

Barrica met with business owners in Lagos back in September and says 500Startups is targeting companies engaged in “technologies, software, online marketplaces and e-commerce.” The firm says it plans to invest about $200million to invest in similar opportunities around the world.