Over the past decade, Africa’s tech startup ecosystem has witnessed a surge in investments, with Kola Aina emerging as one of the prominent figures driving innovation and funding across the continent.
Africa’s foreign direct investment landscape has seen a notable shift, with FDI flows reaching $53 billion in 2023. And, goes on to highlight the opportunities and potential that investors see in the region.
Source: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), FDI/MNE database
A pioneer tech entrepreneur, Aina’s work spans diverse sectors and roles, to cement his reputation as a visionary leader in venture capital and technology. Techparley takes a ride into his life.
Who is Kola Aina, the multi-sector visionary?
Kola Aina’s professional experience covers a wide range of industries, including venture capital, technology, media, agriculture, infrastructure, publishing, and real estate.
Kola Aina is the Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, a pioneering early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to nurturing the next wave of African entrepreneurs.
The fund’s portfolio boasts an impressive array of category-defining companies, including Mono, PiggyVest, Reliance HMO, and Paystack —a leading African fintech company acquired by the global payments giant Stripe in 2020.
The Lagos-born venture capitalist grew to become a cornerstone in the tech space, and now serves on numerous boards, offering strategic guidance to companies such as ARM Financial Advisers Limited, Trove Technologies, MDaaS Global, and Edu Platforms, where he served as chairman between 2014 and 2020.
Kola Aina is also the Chairman of the Yemisi Shyllon Art Museum and further holds advisory roles at CrowdForce and Acumen. In fostering innovation and supporting local idea incubation, he founded Ventures Park, a co-working space and entrepreneurial hub.
Public service under President Muhammadu Buhari
His contributions extend to public service as he served as Chair of the Advisory Group on Technology and Creativity to the Nigerian President and Co-Chair of the Committee on Job Creation and Youth Employment.
Early Life
Kola Aina was born in Lagos but raised in Kano and Kaduna. He attributes his entrepreneurial spirit to his upbringing, and describes himself as an “obsessive calendar person.”
“I am an obsessive calendar person. On my calendar, I have a wake-up time, gym time, prayer time, and a time for meetings. The first thing I do when I wake up is to look at the calendar to figure out where I am going to be,” he stated in a 2021 interview with Jeph Acheampong featured under his African Entrepreneurship Series.
On who is his greatest influence, Kola often cites his father with whom he “interned” in his formative years, and instilled in him a deep understanding of the challenges and rewards of running businesses. “I give credit to my dad who woke me up at 5am every morning to make sure everything is fine around the house. On Sundays, we went to his factory and during school holidays, I would intern at his office,” he disclosed.
Education
Aina earned a BSc in Electronics Engineering Technology from Savannah State University in 2004, and despite excelling academically, he disliked engineering and quickly pivoted to pursue his passion for business and technology.
He obtained an MBA from Bowling Green State University, where he served as President of the MBA Students Association and gained foundational skills for his entrepreneurial journey.
Given his penchant for excellence and knowledge, he further sharpened his leadership skills through senior management programs at Lagos Business School and Harvard Business School. He also completed a postgraduate diploma in Strategy and Innovation at the University of Oxford.
Kola Aina: From Analyst to Innovator
Aina began his career as a financial analyst at Fifth Third Bank in Ohio before transitioning to corporate strategy roles at the Regent Group in Nigeria.
Prior to recording success in his venture exploits, Kola, like many, have had to stumble multiple times. He shared his journey, citing the significance of focus on succeeding at any ambition.
“Well, I have seen what not focusing can do to you. Learning to focus was the turning point for me. When I first got back to Nigeria, I wanted to be a multi-businessman. I was pursuing about 5 ideas, which didn’t turn out well. Eventually, I read this quote; “Discipline pursuit of less.” This really struck me as it helped me realise it requires discipline to do fewer things,” he said.
“There is actually an illustration of a whale going after a school of fish and another illustration of a school of fish going after a whale. That is a depiction of focus; you choose which side you are on,” he explained.
Kola would later co-found Emerging Platforms Limited, a technology consultancy focused on developing tailored solutions for African challenges.
Despite initial funding challenges, Kola and his team bootstrapped the company, creating products like a whistleblowing platform and gaining early customers. Asked how people without funding and “connection” (i.e. access to investors) can scale their ideas to success.
“The first thing to do is to identify a problem. Second, to build a solution that works,” he advised. “Third, to find 5 people that will use the product, will love it, and give you feedback. Once you are obsessed with making the customer happy, it fuels word of mouth,” he added.
“At this point, some investors are then in a comfortable position to help scale the idea as fast as possible,” the investor elaborated.
Kola’s determination and adaptability laid the groundwork for his later ventures.
How Kola conceived Ventures Platform
Kola’s vision to simplify access to funding and mentorship for African entrepreneurs led to the establishment of Ventures Platform in 2016.
Initially modelled as an accelerator program, the firm transitioned into an early-stage venture capital model, investing in transformative startups such as Paystack, PiggyVest, and Seamless HR.
Ventures Platform’s early success attracted co-investors and external capital, culminating in a $46 million fund closed in 2022. The fund’s investors include notable African and international players such as:
- Shola Akinlade, CEO of Paystack
- Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator
- Adam Draper, Founder of Boost VC
- Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)
- UAC Nigeria
- Global Innovation Fund
These prominent investors, alongside other institutional and individual limited partners, have backed Ventures Platform to strengthen Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
How far, so far
By 2024, Ventures Platform had disbursed $19.6 million from its $46 million fund, with investments in over 90 companies addressing challenges in Fintech, HealthTech, Logistics, and Cleantech. The firm has expanded its reach across Africa, supporting startups like:
- Karcel in Egypt, which focuses on tech-driven logistics solutions
- Union54 in Zambia, offering innovative financial products
- Notto in South Africa, Africa’s first licensed alternative Credit Bureau
Under Kola’s leadership, Ventures Platform has not only achieved financial success—recording returns on four out of six investment cohorts by 2023—but has also created a lasting impact on the African entrepreneurial landscape. By focusing on startups that address critical challenges in healthcare, education, and financial services, the firm continues to position itself as a force for development and economic growth.
Sources familiar with Ventures Platform’s approach noted that its fair and transparent terms, mentorship, and its early-stage focus attracted top talents while fostering trust in the ecosystem.
“Kola Aina is an industry leader we all respect. He knows his onions, and sets his priorities right. His success over the years is not surprising in any way. Many of us look up to him, and his Venture Platform has not disappointed. If not for anything, Kola’s VP is the launch pad of many early-stage startups,” a venture analyst who pleaded anonymity commented.
As one of Africa’s leading venture capitalists, Kola Aina continues to inspire a generation of innovators, contributing to ensuring the continent’s challenges are met with groundbreaking solutions. And, with Ventures Platform’s growing influence, Aina’s legacy as a builder of African innovation is firmly established.
Commentary
- Techparley considers Kola’s life as an instructive lesson to young founders and investors in the startup ecosystem given his experience in both building products for the market and investing in ideas to scale.
- Kola’s lifestyle also personified discipline, which is an active success ingredient, as can be observed in both his personality and person.
- But, how much of education is required to record success in the tech space cannot be exactly matched from his story as we have seen some players with even lesser education succeed excellently.
- Even at that, we strongly encourage anyone who can afford and sacrifice to learn as much as possible as it could be all that would make the difference between success and utter failure.
