MAGIC Fund, an early-stage fund built on the thesis that smaller funds run by diverse founders perform best at early-stage investing (pre-seed/seed)global collective of founders, has raised a $30 Million Fund II to continue backing early-stage startups from around the world.
Founded in 2017, MAGIC Fund is a fund of micro-funds run by repeat founders who possess strong expertise in specific industries and geographies, with a keen focus on fintech, healthcare, and emerging markets (Africa, LATAM, SE Asia). Some of the Fund II GPs and LPs Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel, Tim Draper, Ace & Company, Rappi’s Andres Bilbao, Octopus Ventures’ Kirsten Connell, Paystack’s Shola Akinlade, Flutterwave’s Gbenga Agboola, and Katie Lewis, among others.
Since debuting in 2017, the fund has invested in 70 companies through Fund I in firms such as Novobank, which just raised a $40.7 Million Series A, ?? Payfazz raised a $53 Million Series B last July, ?? Frubana raised $65 Million in Series B funding in June, Nigeria’s Mono which raised $2.6 Million in Seed funding in May and ?? Retool was valued at nearly a billion dollars.
Founders experience the daily, nerve-racking, process of building a startup and we can’t think of anyone better to support them than those who have gone down the same path.
Similar to AngelList’s Spearhead, the founders-backing-founders model ensures that startups receive capital from helpful advisors, and it also compensates the investing founders for their advice.
“As founders, we often have the best access to early-stage deals but sometimes lack the personal capital to invest. That’s why it was imperative to build an infrastructure that enables us to invest in and support other founders.
We are a team of experienced founders hoping to sprinkle our magic in every corner of the world. All our partners have built and operated leading companies across the globe. Each partner is able to provide value by leveraging their unique experience and network,” announced the firm.
MAGIC’s partners are dispersed geographically and industrially and invests across all regions and sectors with specific partners focusing on emerging markets. It’s Africa-focused investments will be overseen by Kauffman Fellow Temi Marcella Awogboro, while Helium Health’s Dimeji Sofowora and Alison Cheung oversee European investments. Southeast Asia investments will be led by Payfazz’s Hendra Kwik and Oxy2’s Elvis Zhang.
MAGIC Fund provides guidance in the rigorous discovery of product-market fit, facilitate introductions, and support with expansion into new regions, strategy, marketing, fundraising, and hiring.
We’re Scaling Up The Vision
The vision for MAGIC is going back to how early-stage venture capital began, which is, founders investing in other founders and supporting them through the journey. We’re going to keep scaling this up as much as we can, across different geographies and industries, and we’re very happy for the headstart we already have.
— Adegoke Olubusi, Managing Partner and Helium Health’s CEO.