Corporate builders, unlike incubators and accelerators, seem to be organizations that grow startups from scratch, primarily based on their own ideas and resources. In the process, technology-loving designers, developers, marketers, etc. are gathered, but they often meet for the first time in the field of startup development.
Antler is one such organization. However, Antler has adopted a mixed model and is also active as an early stage venture capital company. Specifically, it helps founders create complementary co-founding teams, supports detailed verification of business models, and provides a global platform for business expansion.
To date, Antler has invested and grown in more than 250 companies. Forty percent of them have at least one female co-founder, whose nationalities span more than 70 countries.
Launched in 2017 by multi-company owner Magnus Grimeland and experienced entrepreneurs, investors and corporate builders around the world, Antler has so far been $ 75 million.
Antler’s only African branch is in Nairobi and is run by women.
Marie Nielsen, founder of Ethiopian paper recycling company Penda Paper Recycling, is Antler’s partner. He has previously worked as an associate partner for Mckinsey & Company and was responsible for establishing the Addis Ababa branch of the company.
Melalite Ayenew is Antler’s tech partner. He has a career at Oracle, Bain & Company and Princeton Consultants. Selam Kebede is Antler’s director and managing director. Prior to joining Antler, he worked for several venture capital and entrepreneur support organizations.
Turn professionals into founders
As in other parts of the world, the cohort is held twice a year in Antler East Africa. At Antler, we stick to a “people-first” approach, bringing together professionals with an average of 10 years of experience in each industry.
These founders will conceptualize, iterate, and create solutions based on the insights and real-world problems they have gained through past experience in their respective industries. Then, after a 6-month incubation period, invest in a team that will continue to support.
Usually, in the pre-seed stage, Antler will write a $ 100,000 check for each selected team, subject to a 10-20% stake. But in the case of Antler East Africa, the stake is just 20%.
“Our process is extremely practical. Working with our founders for months gives us the opportunity to shape our business model and perform extensive due diligence before investing,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen’s due diligence is supported by Antler’s global platform, mobilizing a network of more than 400 experts across a variety of technologies and industries. After the pre-seed phase, Antler East Africa will continue to support the teams as they struggle to raise money from more investors.
Ainyu adds: “We are also exploring opportunities to invest in existing early stage startups that have grown outside of this program, but they are still early enough to provide value as well as financial investment by entering our portfolio. You must be in phase. ”
Given that Nairobi is Africa’s only Antler branch, the team is looking for a founder working on problems in Africa in general and their solutions. Antler has attracted the founders of more than 15 African countries, and they play a major role in maintaining the pan-African image of the company’s cohort.
Antler East Africa has invested in a wide range of tech companies in the B2B, B2C and D2C (consumer direct sales) sectors. The range extends from emerging sectors such as robotics and AI to sectors such as health tech, fintech and real estate tech. In two recent cohorts, the company has invested in six startups.
Cooked is a subscription-based kit food provider. It operates on weekly and monthly subscriptions and delivers food to customers on pre-agreed days. The founder has over 20 years of experience in the finance, food and restaurant industries.
UNCOVER is partnering with one of South Korea’s top skin care laboratories to build Africa’s most reliable skin care brand and content platform. The company’s skin care survey received responses from 1,000 Kenyan women. According to the company, this data will help develop a rapidly spreading knowledge platform and effective customized products.
From the experience of selling FMCG (fast-moving products), especially dealing with small businesses, in the early days of its founding, ChapChapGo has found that there is no simple and inexpensive tool tailored to the local context. We found that it was a major challenge for companies to adopt e-commerce.
With ChapChapGo, you can process online in minutes with simple billing, automatic matching, and high-speed cashiers with M-Pesa.
Image Credit: Antler East Africa
Anyi Health wants to make it easier for people seeking primary health care to get financial support. In Nigeria and many other African countries, patients who cannot afford hospital treatment are detained in hospitals or left untreated.
So Anyi Health is working to solve this problem with a mobile-based point-in-time credit feature (patients can apply for credit directly at the hospital). The company has just started MVP pilots at three hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria, and is aiming to raise $ 300,000 in a seed round based on a proof of concept pilot.
AIfluence is an AI-driven influencer marketing platform. Founded by veteran advertising industry employees, the company helps African brands make better decisions when launching, managing and evaluating influencer marketing campaigns.
AI Fluence has signed contracts with major international and African companies, including Sony and Safaricom, for a total of over $ 600,000.
Digiduka positions itself as a digital services solution for Kenya’s cash economy. The company claims that there are two problems with African payment solutions, which are prepaying millions of potential users. One of the problems is the high commission of 9% per transaction, and the other is the inconvenient payment mode.
Digiduka is a full-scale unification for Kenyan consumers and small stores, with a CEO with over 15 years of experience at a major African telco and a CTO with experience as a technical chief of various startups. We aim to build a digital service solution.
The next cohort of Antler East Africa will be held in April. Mr. Kebede said: “By bringing together talented and experienced people to create outstanding businesses in Africa, we aim to change the way people think, not only sustainably and innovatively, but also to others. I hope we can help foster an organization that is recognized.”