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Emerging Growth and Venture Capital

With lawyers across Africa working on venture capital and private equity projects, we are strategically placed to support early-stage companies with a high growth potential, startups, scaleups and institutional investors. 

Venture capital (VC) and private equity investments are critical to the continued growth and development of the continent. Yet these are challenging times for those seeking and providing financing. 

Combining a strong local presence with exceptional global resources, our role is to help clients optimize their potential for raising capital and to access the right sources of finance − while helping investors make the right moves, in the right ways. 

Our dedicated lawyers work for company founders, entrepreneurs, startups and emerging businesses in Africa’s key sectors, including energy and natural resources, infrastructure, financial services and technology. 

We connect clients to capital by maintaining strong relationships with an international network of business angels, VC funds, corporate investors and other strategic investors. 

We are proven: in the last three years, DLA Piper globally has completed more than 1,700 financings totaling USD22.4 billion. DLA Piper is ranked by Chambers & Partners USA in Emerging Growth and Venture Capital in all major and mid markets. Our global platform and African in-country presence enable us to advise clients investing in virtually any territory, including portfolio companies going global. 

Key capabilities include: 

  • formulating sophisticated, practical and creative legal solutions for emerging growth clients
  • advising on business problems to anticipate and how to overcome them
  • crowd funding, capital incubator and accelerator relationships
  • we also provide intellectual property advice, board of director training, corporate governance, government affairs, international tax, securities counseling, and M&A and IPO planning 

Please contact us to discuss how we can help you to achieve your objectives.