Venture capital firm 54 Collective to shut start-up studio, cut jobs

54 Collective, the Africa-focused venture capital (VC) firm formerly Founders Factory Africa, is shutting down its venture studio operations on the continent as its partnership with the Mastercard Foundation lapses in two months.

The early-stage start-up funder has run the studio alongside the Gen F accelerator and Entrepreneur Academy on Mastercard Foundation’s financial backing, whose deal runs until April 30.

54 Collective said it did not secure alternative funding to keep the operations running. A subsequent layoff process is expected.

However, the VC firm, which has hubs in Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Lagos, said its $40 million venture capital fund UAF1 remains unaffected and will continue investing in African start-ups.

Additionally, a multi-million-dollar pool raised in 2023 to support portfolio companies’ operations and gender equity initiatives in venture capital will still run.

Some start-ups in 54 Collective’s Kenyan portfolio include the online ticket-booking start-up BuuPass, the fintechs Lipa Later and Zanifu, and the agri-tech ventures Shamba Pride and VunaPay.

The VC company said the Mastercard Foundation partnership has supported over 40 start-ups and created more than 17,500 direct and indirect jobs.

54 Collective says the Entrepreneur Academy has also awarded 600 grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).