Alta Global Ventures is the latest global VC firm to make an entry into the African continent. But, they are doing this through a well-known and established partner - Victor Asemota.
In August 2018, Victor updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new position at Alta Global Ventures as the Africa Partner. He followed this with a quick bio of what the VC firm does and - perhaps - what his focus will be.
"Alta Global Ventures supports passionate entrepreneurs from the top ecosystems around the world," read the first line.
"Alta Global invests directly into venture stage and growth stage companies targeting high-growth markets and connects them to key resources throughout our global network," another read.
When I contacted Victor at the beginning of September for more details about his position at Alta Global, he pointed out that the firm would reach out to the public and media through a press release. "There is an embargo on media coverage of the fund until it is officially announced," he wrote.
It was earlier anticipated that the official announcement would be made before the close of this year. Yet, Victor informed me this week that it was pushed to the first quarter next year.
Also read: Silicon Valley: Invest in Africa, But Do It Differently
Alta Global Ventures has updated the "Offices & Global Partners" to include Africa. But, they haven't yet added Victor among their partners on the website.
The fund has offices across five continents with its headquarters in Utah, US. Going by the slogan "talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not", Alta Global Ventures was founded in 2010. Among its portfolio includes Ancestry, a resource for online family history & genealogy, Arrivedo, Wandero and more.
There are no other details about Alta's activities across the African continent. This is because most of our questions are still unanswered. But, this article will be updated once we get more details.
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Alta Offices & Global Partners. Photo: Alta Global Ventures[/caption]
Currently a board advisor for Flutterwave, Victor is among the notable mentors and key figures in Africa's tech startup ecosystem. Thus, it is no doubt that Alta Global Ventures would have picked no better partner to go with.
Victor also co-founded technology company, SwiftaCorp, over 15 years ago. The company has operations across the continent. He has also served as a mentor with the Google Launchpad Accelerator since July 2016.
A graduate of the University of Benin, Sheffield Hallam and Harvard Business School, Victor is also a notable author on tech, startups, and innovation across Africa. His articles have been published by CNN, The Guardian Nigeria and more.
Earlier this month, Founders Factory, a UK-based corporate-backed accelerator, also announced its entry into Africa. This will significantly reduce the need for one to travel for long distances to access world-class support.