Alexandra Connerty
1 min read
Venture Capital Trust Fund
Sector: Sector-agnostic
We are a fund of funds created by the government of Ghana to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of venture capital financing for SMEs in Ghana.
Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) was established in 2004 after the Ghana government passed the VCTF Act 680 to provide financing to SMEs. The government-backed venture capital fund of funds provides initial money to venture capital firms in Ghana. One of its key objectives is to develop the venture capital and private equity industry. “We also serve as a local anchor for foreign coinvestors, as we’re able to monitor and supervise the activities of the local fund manager in accordance with the fund manager agreement,” says investment officer Osman Aziz. VCTF also organizes seminars for its fund managers to discuss industry challenges and share knowledge.
VCTF has invested in six venture capital funds: Activity Venture Finance Company, Ebankese Venture Fund, Oasis Africa Fund, Bedrock Venture Capital Finance Company, Gold Venture Capital Ltd. and Fidelity Equity Fund II. Most of the funds are sector-agnostic, though the Oasis Africa Fund targets SMEs providing services and products in education, healthcare, finance, food services, housing and hospitality. Funds also evaluate the social and sustainability elements of prospective portfolio companies, such as the impact on women’s empowerment, tax contribution, governance, sustainable youth employment and environmental improvement. “It’s about how you’re impacting people’s lives,” says Osman. “That’s why we’re investing in these funds.” Interested companies need to prepare a business proposal with a three-year financial projection and other relevant documents. Companies can approach the funds directly, but VCTF sometimes also makes referrals.
To help develop the Ghanaian ecosystem, VCTF established the Ghana Angel Investors Network (GAIN) in 2011, with the core mandate of building an ecosystem to enable access to funds for young entrepreneurs in order to build their startups in Ghana. GAIN bridges the funding gap for startups and provides a solution for investors who wish to participate in early-stage opportunities, while also providing coaching and mentoring opportunities to entrepreneurs.
Checklist
- Be clear in your business. Companies that clearly articulate their business models get the most value from the firms we invest in.
- Know your competition. We work with companies that can articulate how and why they’re different from their competition and the market they operate in.
- Have a long-term vision. We want to know where you see your company in the next five to ten years and how the VCs we work with can help you get there.
- Understand your impact. We want to help companies that know how their business is changing the lives of their customers and positively impacting the environment.
- Prepare for due diligence. Before making an investment, the firm does a background check on key stakeholders and financial due diligence of the company.
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