The Egypt-based Acasia Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Acasia Group, has opened a new office in Lagos, Nigeria, in a bid to extend its reach across the African continent and connect with founders and stakeholders on the ground.
Known as Cairo Angels until announcing a rebrand late last year, Acacia Group has been expanding its scope to cover the whole of the continent, and recently invested in the likes of Nigerian logistics startup Fez Delivery and Egyptian fintech company Balad.
In opening its Lagos office, Acasia Ventures said it is demonstrating its commitment to the continent and West Africa specifically. The office is situated at the city’s Impact Hub building, which is affiliated with a global network of locally-founded and -operated impact innovation incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, and non-profit organisations.
“We have our heritage in Egypt, but we really believe in the future of the whole continent. That is why our new office in Lagos should provide a platform to deepen our relationships with the market, by having an in-person presence in Nigeria,” said Acasia Ventures general partner Biola Alabi.
“As we’ve seen in previous economic crises, these are the times when companies that will shape the future for the better are built, and investing in those companies today is how we plan to contribute to Africa’s economic and social development.”
Acasia Ventures is also working to pave the way for its sister company Acasia Impact to work with corporations in Nigeria to build custom, sector-specific programmes around entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Our new office will be a destination that founders and stakeholders can come to and engage with us, and being at the heart of Impact Hub allows us to be at the center of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country,” Alabi said.
