As I reflect on 2021, I am most grateful for the numerous opportunities to align my Purpose, Passion and Impact. The milestones reached were the culmination of years of graft and grit, which have provided tremendous opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Evercare Hospital Lekki, reached new heights in its first year of operations since its historic launch in 2021. As we look towards the 1 year anniversary (how time flies!) we remain maniacally focused on operational excellence and innovation to transform the healthcare landscape across growth markets.
MAGIC surpassed its target close and remains uniquely positioned in its contributions to the tectonic movement across global venture. In 3 years, we have celebrated 2 unicorns, 2 acquisitions and over $700M follow-on funding from leading global VCs into MAGIC companies, 70% of which are minority-led.
I received a number of honors, including a Presidential confirmation to serve on the Health Sector Reform Committee under the chairmanship of the Vice President and selection as a Choiseul 100 Africa 2021 Laureate. I was privileged to shed light on key issues across a number of global platforms including the IFC, PEVCA, EY, Veuve Clicquot and others.
Sadly I lost my Oma, Marlene Olatunde (1935-2021). She was a strong woman with an entrepreneurial spirit, full of life, love, tenacity strength and positivity. I strive to continue to honor her through my life's work.I also pay tribute to the Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man that has inspired generations striving to elevate humanity to take up the mantle of Responsible Leadership.
As we enter 2022 there are a number of significant and daunting changes on the horizon. I am committed to investing in my well-being (physical, mental and spiritual), prioritizing family and key relationships, and betting on myself in a way I have never done before.
I hope that my journey uplifts, inspires someone, somewhere and look forward to manifesting the next chapter in this gloriously messy, unique masterpiece called life.
I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.
Best wishes,
Evercare Hospital Lekki Milestones in Transforming Healthcare
March 2021 was the culmination of a half decade dream of mine to bring world class healthcare to Nigeria. Since the launch, Evercare Hospital Lekki has made important strides in delivering on its promise. A few key milestones included 10,000 outpatient consultations, 1,000 in patient admissions, as well as a number of major surgical milestones. In Q4 2021 Evercare commenced its Cardiac and Neuro programmes, successfully carrying out its FIRST Open Heart Surgery procedure (A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft).
As we prepare to mark the 1 year anniversary in 2022 we remain maniacally focused on operational excellence and innovation to provide Nigerian's access to the quality of care they deserve with the continued support of Evercare Group, TPG and our investors as we collectively re-define the future of healthcare in growth markets.
Appointment to serve on the Health Sector Reform Committee of Nigeria
I was honoured to be confirmed by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari to serve on the Health Sector Reform Committee of Nigeria under the Chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to contribute to the development of the Health Sector Reform Programme for Nigeria. The Health Sector Reform Committee was approved by the Nigerian President, in partnership with state governments and the FCT administration, which aims at the development and implementation of a Health Sector Reform scheme in the country.
MAGIC on the Frontlines of Global Innovation
What a year for MAGIC! Together with a global collective of founders, we exceeded our $30 million final close target. 2021 was characterized by an increase in venture capital activity around the world, and MAGIC positioned itself to take advantage of this tectonic movement.
MAGIC 1 (M1) proved our thesis that the most significant out-sized returns would come globally. To date across both funds we have invested in 133 companies across 18 countries and 45 cities. In just over 3 years, we have celebrated 2 unicorns, 2 acquisitions and over $700 Million in follow-on funding from the world's leading VCs into MAGIC companies, 70% of which are minority-led.
We are privileged to be on the frontlines of facilitating global innovation, check out some of the portfolio highlights below:
Bolt raised a $393 Million Series D at a $6 Billion valuation. They are an end-to-end checkout, payments, and fraud solution.
Grin raised a $110 Million Series B led by Lone Pine Capital. They are a leading influencer marketing SaaS for D2C e-commerce brands.
Oxygen raised $17 Million Series A and received term sheets for their Series Bround to build the banking platform for the 21st century economy.
Ontop raised a $20 Million Series A led by Tiger Global alongside Point 72 and Softbank. They provide an onboarding, payments, and taxes solution for global teams.
Legacy raised of $10 Million Series A, led by FirstMark Capital, and top-tier investors such as TQ Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Section 32, Y Combinator, and Tribe Capital and strategic investment from DJ Khaled, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, and Orlando Bloom, as part of the company's efforts to destigmatize male fertility.
Lawyaw was acquired by Clio at a $50 Million valuation in a cash + stock deal. They are a legal-documents automation software.
Mono raised a $15 Million Series A round led by Tiger Global with participation from Target Global, General Catalyst and SBI Investment.
Indicina raised a $3 Million Series A round led by Target Global, alongside Greycroft and RV Ventures. They are building credit infrastructure and scoring for Africa.
Payday raised a $1 Million Pre-seed round. They are building the Paypal for Africa.
As we prepare for the final close of MAGIC 2, there is still the opportunity to refer potential investors. You can reach out to me to facilitate this. Read more about Magic on TechCrunch.
Kairos Portfolio Highlights
Kairos continued to deploy, alongside its angels into the global venture ecosystem. In the second half of the year we syndicated new investments in Brass, Nestcoin, and Flex. We are proud of the progress our Kairos portfolio companies made:
EarlyBird raised a $4 Million Seed round led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six, with strategic participation from Gemini's Frontier Fund among others.
Divibank raised a $5 Million funding boost from Goldfinch, 6 months after announcing a $3.6 million funding raise.
I am excited for a number of interesting developments across the rest of the portfolio over the course of 2022 and the evolution of Kairos 2.0. Read more in the Portfolio Highlights below.
Choiseul 100 Africa 2021 Laureate
I was honoured to be named as a laureate in the 2021 edition of Choiseul 100 Africa ranking. The Choiseul 100 Africa honours the most talented young African economic leaders of their generation. One of the main trends is the increasing number of female laureates (about 40% of the laureates). For Dr Pascal Lorot, founder and president of the Institut Choiseul, “These personalities reflect this new generation of women’s excellence, who are entrepreneurs in many sectors and on whom the continent can rely on for a sustainable and inclusive growth. The full ranking is available on the African Business website.
Inaugural Bold Conversations by Veuve Clicquot.
I was a guest panelist at the inaugural Bold Conversations by Veuve Clicquot in Nigeria. Celebrating the bold and resilient female entrepreneurial spirit, the event provoked discussion around the first International Female Entrepreneurship Barometer released by Veuve Clicquot. Alongside Andrew Alli and Mo Abudu, we debated the topic "Do women in business need to adopt specific behaviors to succeed?" It was a rare occasion on which I spoke frankly about some of the personal challenges I have experienced as a woman in male dominated fields. Watch the replay.
A Lesson in Female Business Success - Curzon PR
I sat down with Curzon PR to discuss my strong advocacy for gender equality, and insights into female business success and what more needs to be done to level the playing field for female contributions across business and other sectors. Read the full interview.
Speaking Engagements
A look at the VC model in Nigeria: Current realities and way forward, PEVCA
Promoting Innovations in HealthTech Series Fireside Conversation, IFC & Anadach
Disruption, convergence and the healthcare sector of tomorrow, EY
Nigeria's Healthcare Infrastructure Gap: Solving the Financing Puzzle - Jackson, Etti & Edu
When you make Global Citizenship your mission you suddenly find yourself with extraordinary allies.” - Hugh Evans
The 2021 Global Citizen Forum's Annual Summit was an important gathering at a historic time, with over 400 guests from 32 countries 25 languages spoken from Guinness World Record Artist, Sacha Jafri, International DJ & Record Producer, Afrojack, Grammy Award-Winning Artist, Wyclef Jean, igniting the momentum for human mobility, and setting in motion an unparalleled vision for the future of global citizenship.
I am delighted and honoured that these amazing young people bear my name.” - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
For those of us privileged to be Tutu Fellows, the loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu feels like personal loss. His life and legacy served as an inspiration to so many of us striving to elevate the continent and humanity.
“They say laughter is the language of the soul. In my meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the many things that resonated with me was his irresistibly contagious laughter. He laughed from the soul and in so doing stirred something in mine. For me, his laugh was a symbol of a man that was in this world but not of this world, a man that had lived through hardship yet had not been hardened by it. The depth of his love shone through, he was truly a light and a beacon of hope. He led from the heart and in so doing inspired generations like myself to take up the mantle of responsible leadership today for a better tomorrow. Archbishop Tutu, may your soul rest in perpetual power and may the heavens ring with your laughter."
EarlyBird announces $4M Seed, led by Alexis Ohanian's 776
EarlyBird, Kairos portfolio company, announced it has secured $4M in seed funding. The round was led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six, followed by strategic participation from Gemini's Frontier Fund along with Rarebreed Ventures, Fiat Ventures, Network Ventures, NBA Player Thaddeus Young's Reform Ventures, and Alex Lieberman, executive chairman and co-founder of Morning Brew, among others.
54 Gene raises $25M to expand precision medicine capabilities
Less than 3% of genetic material used in global pharmaceutical research is from Africa. Since launching in 2019, African genomics startup 54gene has been at the forefront of bridging the divide in the global genomics market. The company secured $25 million in Series B funding to bolster its efforts led by Adjuvant Capital.
One-year-old Sabi is the latest startup to raise funds to serve the informal sector. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it has raised a $6 million bridge round led by pan-African VC firm CRE Venture Capital. Growing an average of 40% month on month in Nigeria, Sabi intends to replicate its rapid growth in other African countries Kenya and South Africa.
