Lagos-based venture capital firm L5 Lab is investing in Africa’s future, and it’s doing so through a series of investments in businesses operating in Africa. Its approach is manifold, as L5 Lab engages in venture capital and creation endeavors, regional expansion partnerships and growth fundraising. Its portfolio is expanding and amidst the ventures backed by L5 Lab are: Jobberman, an online job vacancy website that helps companies find talent and jobseekers find vacancies; Cheki, an online marketplace where all of Nigeria’s leading car dealers, importers and private sellers post their cars for sale in Nigeria;  and, Oya, a bus ticketing agent that provides bus ticketing solutions for inter-city bus companies in Nigeria.

In the latest installment of our Global Innovation Series, we get to press pause on our exploration of tech hubs and incubators and view innovation through the lens of investors.  To learn more about L5 Labs and its ventures, keep on reading:

L5 is on a mission to build new products in Africa, for Africa. What I enjoyed most about my first entrepreneurial adventure was the product development and leadership development so I decided to turn this into a business

L5 is different because it takes a different perspective to business creation. For instance, there is the ongoing accelerator programme – 440.ng, which L5 is in partnership with and also 88mph, another Africa seed investment company.
There are also regional partnerships that bring other firms domiciled outside Nigeria within Africa like Cheki.com.ng, which started in Kenya and now exists in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi and Rwanda.

Investors are definitely willing to take risks by virtue of the fact that since these tech startups are scalable using technology, they grow easily and very rapidly. Hence, most of the time within tech businesses, you find that businesses can have multi-million valuations very easily within a one to five year period.

The founders/ ‘brains behind the idea own their intellectual property. We simply have an equity share in each start-up

Technology and innovation are going to become a more significant part of our culture and daily lives. We see L5 being a major part of this change in landscape. We intend to keep growing and expanding to more African countries, and creating businesses that leverage on gaps that are scalable using technology

Being able to mentor younger people with brilliant ideas who have a strong desire to work hard and have successful ventures

Learn as much as you can about your business idea, glean from the experience of those who have done similar work and don’t rest on your oars.

Be open in your dealings with these entrepreneurs. Ensure that what you intend to give them and gain from them is clearly communicated.

Keep up with all of L5 Lab’s activities on twitter: @L5Lab

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