Kepple Africa Ventures

General contacts

Investor type

Founded

2019

AUM

$60 M

Location

Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Pre-seed Seed

Region of investment

Africa

Investor profile last updated: 30 August, 2026

Profile

Kepple Africa Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Tokyo, Japan, focused on investing in early-stage tech startups across Africa, particularly in East and West Africa. Founded in December 2018 by Ryosuke Yamawaki and Takahiro Kanzaki, the firm has regional offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria. Kepple makes seed investments ranging from $50,000 to $150,000, with an average investment of $100,000, and has completed 75 investments across the continent as of January 2024.

The firm targets early-stage companies in various sectors, with a strong emphasis on fintech, logistics, health, and agriculture. Kepple prides itself on a quick investment process, often completing deals within two weeks. In addition to providing capital, Kepple serves as a connector, linking entrepreneurs to a network of investors and corporate partners, particularly bridging the African and Japanese startup ecosystems. Its portfolio includes notable companies like TIBU Health, SESO, and Releaf, and it has achieved six portfolio exits.

Industry

Financial Services Fintech Food and Beverage Foodtech Healthcare Services Marketing and Advertising Media and Entertainment SaaS Software Transportation Energy HealthTech Mobility

Kepple Africa Ventures Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) Fund	Venture Capital (VC)	Financial Services Fintech Food and Beverage Foodtech Healthcare Services Marketing and Advertising Media and Entertainment HealthTech Mobility	Pre-seed Seed	Africa	$5-10 m	$60 M	November 2021

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Satoshi Shinada Partner/Co-founder

Partner/Co-founder

s•••@•••

Takahiro（Taka） Kanzaki General Partner

General Partner

t•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Kepple Africa Ventures — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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FAQs about Kepple Africa Ventures

Is Kepple Africa Ventures a venture capital or private equity firm?

Kepple Africa Ventures is a venture capital firm. It backs companies at Pre-seed and Seed, writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Kepple Africa Ventures located?

Kepple Africa Ventures is located in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

When was Kepple Africa Ventures founded?

Kepple Africa Ventures was founded in 2019.

What sectors and industries does Kepple Africa Ventures invest in?

Kepple Africa Ventures invests in companies and startups in Financial Services, Fintech, Food and Beverage, Foodtech, Healthcare Services, Marketing and Advertising, Media and Entertainment, SaaS, Software, Transportation, Energy, HealthTech, Mobility.

What is Kepple Africa Ventures geographical focus of investments?

Kepple Africa Ventures invests in companies and startups in Africa.

At what stages of companies and startups does Kepple Africa Ventures typically invest in?

Kepple Africa Ventures invests in companies and startups at Pre-seed, Seed.

What is the usual amount of Kepple Africa Ventures investment?

Kepple Africa Ventures usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Kepple Africa Ventures?

Kepple Africa Ventures has around $60m assets under management.

When was Kepple Africa Ventures last fund created?

Kepple Africa Ventures last fund was created/launched in 2021-11-16

What are the contacts of Kepple Africa Ventures?

Kepple Africa Ventures can be reached through its website kepple-africa-ventures.com and its LinkedIn page. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Kepple Africa Ventures — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

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Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Kepple Africa Ventures directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Kepple Africa Ventures profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 30 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.