NIGERIA – Echelon Capital, a new venture capital firm, has announced plans to inject US$1 million in funding beginning February 2021 in Nigerian tech and non-tech founders who need funding to scale their startups.

According to the founder venture capital firm’s founder, Sunday Olorunsheyi, the VC also has plans to invest millions of dollars into startups in Africa over the next ten years.

“One thing that gives my team and I joy is that founders who are prepared, built capacity, and have positioned their businesses properly will need to worry less about accessing funding,” Olorunsheyi said.

This exciting news has come amid concerns over the increasing dominance of foreign investments in the Nigerian startup ecosystem, especially by US investors.

The VC is sector-agnostic and looks out for both tech and non-tech startups. According to Olorunsheyi, Echelon Capital is on the look out for startups with outstanding products, a strong team, capital efficiency, execution strategy, and profits.

This exciting news has come amid concerns over the increasing dominance of foreign investments in the Nigerian startup ecosystem, especially by US investors.

Sunday Olorunsheyi, a successful international business leader with experience spanning over 20 years building businesses in different sectors of the economy, is the co-founder of Pertinence Group, which began its operation in 2012 and is now a multi-billion-naira business. 

He sits on the board of 12 companies, including Globarel Group. For more than five years, Sunday Olorunsheyi has written cheques to about 20 successful startups. He holds two Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Administration from Business School Netherlands and Ladoke

When asked about the future of startup investing in Nigeria, Sunday Olorunsheyi predicts that it is in decentralized investments, meaning that individuals will invest through startup funding platforms for direct investments.

There is also likely to be an increase in crowdfunding platforms where people can invest in startups prescreened for potential viability. These investors would put their money in infrastructures that could help SMEs scale faster and globally.

Olorunsheyi concluded by saying that there is a lot of excitement about the journey ahead.

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