UNCOVERED FUND

Name

UNCOVERED FUND

Legal name

UNCOVERED FUND INC.

Website

https://uncoveredfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate / Clean Tech & Decarbonization Funds (FSANAJAA), SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Venture capital investment
• Emerging markets finance
• Startup seed funding
• Open innovation partnerships
• Africa tech investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns generated through equity investments in African startups across seed and growth stages. Fund generates returns via carried interest (typically 20% of profits) and management fees (typically 2% of committed capital).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UNCOVERED FUND is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage African startups from seed through Series A+ via two fund vehicles, with initial tickets of $100K-$300K and follow-on funding of $500K-$2M. Beyond capital deployment, the firm runs an Open Innovation Services platform that partners portfolio companies with Japanese corporations for technology transfer, POC projects, and market access, and hosts the annual Showcase Africa conference connecting startups, VCs, and Japanese corporates.

Product overview

UNCOVERED FUND is a venture capital firm specializing in emerging markets, primarily Africa. The company operates two investment funds (1st Fund and UNCOVERED MONEX AFRICA 2nd Fund) that provide seed to Series A+ funding for African startups, with focus areas in fintech, energy, climate tech, mobility, logistics, and retail. Beyond capital deployment, UNCOVERED FUND offers open innovation services facilitating partnerships between Japanese corporations and African startups, operates the annual Showcase Africa conference, and has established joint ventures such as a gig worker asset finance business in Kenya. The firm supports portfolio companies with business growth assistance and follow-on investment capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UNCOVERED FUND Investment Partnership (1st Fund) The inaugural venture capital fund focused on African startups, providing seed to Series A+ investment with initial tickets of $100K-$300K and follow-on funding of $500K-$2M. Targets post-PMF startups in fintech, energy, climate tech, mobility, logistics, and retail.
• UNCOVERED MONEX AFRICA INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (2nd Fund) A co-investment vehicle with Monex Ventures deploying capital across African startups in fintech, climate tech, and mobility sectors, as part of a $20 million partnership.
• Open Innovation Services Facilitates collaboration between Japanese companies' business assets and African startups, including joint ventures, business development, technology transfer programs, and direct investment opportunities for portfolio companies.
• Showcase Africa Conference Japan's only annual conference bringing together leading startups, venture capitalists, and Japanese corporations shaping the future of the Global South including Africa; hosted annually since 2022 by UNCOVERED FUND.

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Skylight ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture scheme through which UNCOVERED FUND created new business in Kenya - an asset finance business for African gig workers. Partnership enables business idea creation and POC project development for African market entry.
• MeidenshacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy and climate tech new business creation program in African markets. Meidensha employees are seconded to UNCOVERED FUND to search for collaboration opportunities and share knowledge on Africa investment. Partnership focuses on renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure.
• Agri Info DesignsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to export Japanese agricultural technology to Africa. Through POC projects, achieved collaboration with local large-scale farms to support digitization of 800 million farmers in Africa.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Partech Partners: Pan-African/emerging-markets VC that invests across seed, Series A and growth stages — closely overlapping UNCOVERED FUND's mandate in early-stage African tech investing.
• TLcom Capital: Africa-focused early/growth-stage VC with offices in Lagos, Nairobi and London — competing directly for seed-to-Series A deals in Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt.
• Novastar Ventures: East-Africa early-stage VC investing in low-income-market consumer and enterprise businesses — direct competitor for Kenya and surrounding-country seed deals.
• AAIC (Africa Agriculture and International Capital): Japan-rooted investment platform targeting African growth markets across sectors — the closest analogue to UNCOVERED FUND's Japan-to-Africa bridge model.
• Aruwa Capital Management: Nigeria-rooted early-stage VC backing African consumer, fintech and infrastructure startups — overlaps with UNCOVERED's Nigerian fintech and mobility exposure.
• Future Africa: Pan-African pre-seed/seed VC backed by global LPs — competes with UNCOVERED for earliest-stage African startups across multiple geographies.
• Microtraction: Africa-focused early-stage VC deploying seed capital into African startups — comparable in stage and ticket-size profile to UNCOVERED FUND's Seed Fund.
• Ingressive Capital: Africa-focused early-stage VC with strong tech-sector emphasis — competes with UNCOVERED for Series A deals in Nigerian and Kenyan startups.

Emerging players

• Satgana: Emerging climate-tech VC investing in African and other emerging-market climate startups — overlaps with UNCOVERED's energy and climate-tech thesis.

Broad incumbents

• Global Brain: Established Japanese VC with global early-stage mandates — comparable as a Japanese-headquartered early-stage VC, though not Africa-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UncoveredFund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments29 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UNCOVERED FUND