TheCable

TLcom Capital, a venture capital firm, says it has appointed Eloho Omame as a partner.

In a statement on Monday, the company said it added Omame as a partner to bolster its capabilities as it ramps up deployment of its new $150 million pan-African tech with the TIDE Africa Fund II.

In January, TLcom Capital secured $70 million for its $150 million funds to invest in African tech-enabled businesses.

“Eloho will bring more senior capacity to TLcom’s high-touch approach with entrepreneurs and support deal flow generation at the pre-seed stage, as TLcom doubles down on its commitment to Africa’s thriving tech opportunity. There will be even greater emphasis on attracting more female-led companies into TLcom’s portfolio,” the statement reads.

“Eloho is a co-founder and general partner at FirstCheck Africa, a female-focused early-stage venture capital firm that has to date invested in ten high-growth tech start-ups with a female founder or co-founder. Eloho will combine her new role at TLcom with her existing responsibilities at FirstCheck Africa, which was founded in January 2021 to address the severe funding gap for Africa’s female tech entrepreneurs. TLcom will also support the launch of FirstCheck Africa’s $10mn debut fund with a $2mn co-investment commitment from its TIDE Africa Fund II.”

Speaking on Eloho’s appointment and funding plans, Maurizio Caio, founder and managing partner, TLcom, said it looks forward to partnering with more startups, adding that Eloho’s expertise and commitment would help promote the company’s mission of expanding. 

“With the launch of our new fund, we are more committed than ever to Africa. As we partner with more entrepreneurs, we must be able to maintain our existing level of high-quality, on-the-ground strategic support to unlock the full value-generation potential of these companies.

 With our portfolio companies, and our investors, we are building for the long term and fully focused on the upside of the tech sector,” he said.

“We are especially proud to strengthen our team with a Partner of Eloho’s calibre — a seasoned investor who mirrors our founder-first ethos and will play a critical role in enabling us to deepen our commitment to the founder journey in Africa through her early-stage experience. Equally, her expertise will prove invaluable in strengthening our existing support for female entrepreneurs. We look forward to working with Eloho to drive the next phase of our mission to transform Africa’s key verticals through tech-enabled solutions.” 

On her part, Omame said she believes her presence in TLcom would go a long way to scale up her company, FirstCheck Africa, as well as bring more senior capacity to TLcom’s high-touch approach with entrepreneurs and support deal flow generation at the pre-seed stage.

“It’s an honour to join one of the most prestigious investors in African tech. TLcom has seen the benefits of an early-stage approach through the success of both new and repeat founders in TIDE Africa Fund I. As we deploy capital from TIDE Africa Fund II, it’s crucial that we continue to win the race to find the continent’s best entrepreneurs and support their companies to scale,” she said.

“The firm has always demonstrated its commitment to Africa and the development of its startup ecosystem. It’s exciting to be in a position of mission alignment with respect to female founders and I’m thrilled to step up the important work we’ve started at FirstCheck Africa with this incredible show of support from an established, high-calibre fund like TLcom.”

Omame is one of the five partners, thereby increasing TLcom’s experienced and growing team  

The partners include Maurizio Caio, founder and managing partner (Kenya), Omobola Johnson, senior partner (Nigeria), Andreatta Muforo (Kenya), and Ido Sum (UK) as partners.