Sim Shagaya, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of uLesson has announced his new venture The Honey Badger Fund (HBF), a fund for backing “extraordinary Africans”.
“We invest in companies that are changing Africa for the better. More than just capital; we bring experience to our partnerships with entrepreneurs” says the fund on X.
Sim is popular for pioneering the e-commerce movement in Nigeria through his company, Konga which he founded in July 2012. He raised about $80 million with Konga pre-2020 when capital was scarce in the African tech ecosystem.
Post-Konga, Sim has focused on his edtech startup, uLesson which he has grown from focusing on primary and secondary school education to now tertiary education with Miva University. Similarly, uLesson is also a venture-backed startup at the Series B stage with nearly $30 million raised.
“…with the benefit of experience, I now realise that not all money is good money for your business,” he said in an interview with Owvl Ventures, which led the startup’s $7.5 million Series A in January 2021.
The 48-year-old Sim is part of a rare group of Nigerian founders with multiple venture-backed companies.
“[I am] eager to use all I’ve learned to help extraordinary Africans build great businesses and navigate the tough yet most fulfilling transition to business leadership,” Sim said in a tweet announcing his latest venture.
Other African entrepreneurs with funds or venture studios include Iyinoluwa “E” Aboyeji (Andela, Flutterwave) with Future Africa and Accelerate Africa, Opeyemi Awoyemi (Jobberman, WhoGoHost) with Fast Forward Ventures. Many other African founders have privately invested in startups individually or through their private funds. On the flip side, Yele Bademosi, Founding Partner of Microtraction crossed over to the operator side with Nestcoin.
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