Ventures Investment Services
Put private capital to work behind Africa's early-stage founders.
Our Venture Investment Solution gives investment clubs, alumni associations, individual investors and corporate venture arms a structured, well-governed path into early-stage companies — from a first line on the cap table through to exit.
Venture Investment Solution — at a glance
- Investment routes offered
- 4
- Structures
- Cap-table · SPV · Co-invest · LP
- Who we serve
- Clubs, individuals, corporates
- Coverage
- Nigeria & pan-African
- Mandate scope
- Sourcing to exit
- Currency handled
- Naira & hard currency
Who we serve
Built for four kinds of private capital
Each investor type gets a route, ticket size and level of involvement suited to how they want to back founders.
Investment clubs
Groups & Investment Clubs
Members pooling personal capital who want a single, professionally administered vehicle rather than everyone signing separate paperwork
Alumni networks
Alumni associations
Old boys' and old girls' associations backing founders from their own school or university, with governance the association's leadership can stand behind.
Individual investors
Private capital investors
High-net-worth individuals, family offices and diaspora investors seeking direct or fund-based exposure to African venture opportunities.
Corporate VC
Corporate venture investors
Corporates seeking strategic, not purely financial, exposure to founders whose products intersect with their own markets and supply chains.
Founders
Founders raising own network
We also help founders structure a raise from alumni or club investors properly, so goodwill capital doesn't become a governance headache later.
Fund managers
Partner fund managers
Professional venture fund managers we route LP capital to, and co-invest alongside, on behalf of our client investors.
Four ways onto the cap table
We structure each mandate around one of these routes, or a combination, depending on your objectives, ticket size and appetite for involvement.
Direct cap-table investment
A direct equity stake in an early-stage company, held in your own name or your club's name, with your own shareholder rights and standing in the register of members.
Negotiated deal by deal
Direct — you hold the shares
Alumni backing a named founder they know well
Syndicate SPV
We set up and administer a special purpose vehicle that pools capital from your members into one clean line on the company's cap table, with a single point of contact for the founder.
Lower minimum per member
Pooled — SPV manager votes on your behalf
Clubs and associations with many small commitments
Co-investment
You invest alongside RightShore Africa or a vetted lead investor in a round we or a partner has already sourced, diligenced and priced.
Set by the lead round, deal by deal
Light — terms follow the lead investor
Investors wanting vetted access without originating deals
LP in a venture fund
You commit capital as a Limited Partner into a venture fund managed by a professional fund manager, spread across a diversified portfolio of companies.
Fund minimum, drawn down over the fund's life
Passive — governed by the fund's LP terms
Investors wanting diversification with less hands-on work
From first conversation to exit
We stay with a mandate through the full life of the investment, not just the cheque-writing moment.
Discovery & mandate
We establish your objectives, ticket size, risk appetite and preferred structure.
Sourcing & screening
Deal flow is filtered against your mandate before it ever reaches you.
Due diligence
Commercial, financial and legal review of the company and founding team.
Structuring
We choose the route — cap-table, SPV, co-invest or LP — and negotiate terms.
Closing & entry
Funds move, shares are issued or subscribed, and registers are updated.
Monitoring & governance
Ongoing reporting, board or observer rights, and follow-on decisions.
Exit
Trade sale, secondary sale, buy-back, listing or fund-level distribution.
Structure, not just introductions
Backing a founder you admire is the easy part. Getting the paperwork, governance and exit right is where most goodwill investing goes wrong.
Governance your leadership can defend
Alumni and club investments often go wrong on paper, not in principle. We put proper agreements, registers and reporting around every commitment.
Regulatory-aware structuring
We structure SPVs and pooled vehicles with an eye to Nigerian company and capital markets requirements, so your vehicle is built to last.
On-the-ground network
Local presence in Nigeria and relationships across the wider African founder and fund manager community, so sourcing isn't a cold search.
Independent from any one fund
We are not tied to a single fund manager, so LP recommendations and co-investment introductions are made on fit, not on a house product.
Plain reporting
Members and LPs receive reporting written for investors who may not read a term sheet daily, not just fund-manager boilerplate.
Support through the whole life of the deal
We stay engaged from the first screening call through to the day your position is finally sold or distributed.
Before you get in touch
Answers to what most clubs, alumni associations and individual investors ask us first.
What is the minimum amount required to start? +
It depends on the route. Direct cap-table and co-investment tickets are negotiated deal by deal; syndicate SPVs are designed to bring individual member minimums down considerably, since costs and the round are shared. We'll confirm indicative minimums once we understand your objectives.
What's the real difference between a syndicate SPV, co-investment and being an LP in a fund? +
An SPV pools your group's own capital into one line on a single company's cap table, and you choose the deal. Co-investment means joining a round someone else has already sourced and priced. Being an LP means committing to a fund manager's diversified portfolio and stepping back from individual deal selection entirely.
Can our alumni association invest as a formal body, or do members invest individually? +
Both are possible. Many associations prefer a dedicated SPV so the association's name doesn't sit directly on a start-up's cap table, while members' individual commitments are recorded within that vehicle. We'll recommend a structure once we understand your association's constitution and objectives.
Is this regulated, and how do you handle compliance? +
We structure pooled vehicles with regard to Nigerian company law and applicable capital markets requirements, and work with legal counsel on documentation for each vehicle. We'll set out the specific compliance position for your structure before you commit any capital.
Can diaspora or foreign investors take part? +
Yes. We work with diaspora Nigerians and other foreign private capital investors, and can structure commitments in Naira or hard currency depending on the route and the underlying company's own structure.
How do exits typically happen for early-stage African companies? +
Common paths include a trade sale to a larger company, a secondary sale of shares to another investor, a founder or company buy-back, or, for later-stage companies, a public listing. Fund LPs receive distributions as the fund manager exits underlying positions. Timelines for venture investing typically run into years, not months.
What fees does RightShore Africa charge? +
Fees vary by route — SPV administration, co-investment access and LP introductions are each priced differently. We set out fees clearly in writing before any commitment is made, with no charges hidden inside the investment itself.
What happens if a portfolio company needs a follow-on round? +
We monitor portfolio companies and bring follow-on opportunities back to you or your SPV members with our view on participation, so the decision to invest further always remains yours.
Get in touch
Start with a short discovery call
Tell us who you're investing on behalf of and what you're hoping to achieve. We'll come back with the route that fits, in plain terms.
Email: venture@rightshoreafrica.com
Phone & WhatsApp: +234 8114666051
Venture Investment Solution — at a glance
- Investment routes offered
- 4
- Structures
- Cap-table · SPV · Co-invest · LP
- Who we serve
- Clubs, individuals, corporates
- Coverage
- Nigeria & pan-African
- Mandate scope
- Sourcing to exit
- Currency handled
- Naira & hard currency