Lateral Frontiers Fund Research
Investment Thesis
Lateral Frontiers is a frontier market-focused venture capital fund investing in founders building transformative technology solutions to serve the next 3 billion customers in Africa and the Global South. The firm's investment philosophy centers on building "efficient frontiers" where scalable businesses can thrive even in complex, underserved markets. They specifically focus on two primary sectors: fintech and cleantech, with emerging interest in blockchain, healthtech, and digital infrastructure.
The fund believes that the most impactful and valuable technology companies will be created by resourceful founders in frontier markets who deeply understand local challenges and can create globally applicable solutions. Lateral partners with visionary entrepreneurs who combine local insight with global ambition to create both financial returns and lasting impact.
Investment Focus & Sectors
Primary Sectors:
- Fintech & Payments: Open banking platforms, payments infrastructure, embedded finance, DeFi, blockchain-based financial services, crypto exchanges, lending platforms, and financial infrastructure for emerging markets
- Cleantech & Energy: Direct air capture, renewable energy solutions, energy access, climate finance, carbon markets, and sustainable mobility
Secondary Sectors:
- Healthtech (pharmaceutical supply chain, diagnostic centers)
- Ecommerce & Marketplaces (used goods, social commerce)
- HR Tech (payroll, workforce management for developing markets)
- Data Infrastructure & Analytics
- Cloud Computing & Infrastructure
Subsector Specialization: Lateral explicitly invests in technologies that address frontier market pain points including payment friction, energy access gaps, pharmaceutical supply chain inefficiencies, skilled labor matching, and financial inclusion. They have particular expertise in building businesses around mobile-first financial services, carbon offset mechanisms, and cost-effective hardware solutions.
Stage Focus & Check Size
Primary Stages:
- Seed: $1M-$5M+ for teams with early product and initial market traction
- Series A: Selective follow-ons for portfolio companies demonstrating strong product-market fit
- Pre-seed: Selective investments in exceptional technical founders with proven execution
Check Size Range: $1M-$5M typically, with flexibility for strong founders and team compositions.
Investment Approach: Lateral leads or co-leads early-stage rounds and maintains reserves for pro-rata follow-on investments through subsequent rounds.
Fund Structure & Size
Lateral has deployed two funds:
- Fund I: Focused on establishing presence and portfolio in fintech/cleantech across Africa
- Fund II: Currently actively deploying (as of early 2025)
Fund Status: Actively deploying capital as of February 2025. Recent activity includes investments in Wattnow (Tunisia, Cleantech, September 2024) and Octavia Carbon (Kenya, Cleantech/Direct Air Capture, October 2024).
Geographic Focus
Primary Regions:
- Sub-Saharan Africa (particular strength in: Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa)
- Emerging markets and Global South
Office Locations:
- Nairobi, Kenya (primary operational hub)
- Lagos, Nigeria
- New York, USA
- California, USA
Investment Pattern: Primarily Africa-focused with selective investments in adjacent emerging markets. Portfolio includes companies based in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Colombia, China, and USA.
Team & Leadership
Co-Founders & Partners:
Rob Eloff - Co-founder, Partner
- 10+ years investing in developing markets
- Former VP at Conversion Capital; established Frontier Dawn Partners
- 10 years based in Johannesburg, Moscow, London
- Former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs and Investment Director at ACI
- Master's in Finance from Cambridge University
- BA in Philosophy & Economics from University of Cape Town
Steven Grin - Co-founder, Partner
- 20+ years experience as investor and principal across real estate, energy, venture
- Former Director in Office of President of Guyana (low-carbon development strategy)
- Founded Capstone Equities
- Bachelor's in Finance & Philosophy from NYU
- Master's from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Samakab Hashi - Partner
- ~2 decades investing in early-stage and growth companies
- Established Middle Eastern presence at Avanz Capital (Africa, Asia, Middle East focus)
- Former investment banker at Lloyds Banking Group and Allstate Investments
- Deployed ~$1B in PE deals across Africa, Asia, Europe
- BA in Law with Business; MSc in International Business from University of Nottingham
Venture Partners:
- Abdigani Diriye - Venture Partner (AI/Fintech expertise, former YC founder Elevate/Bloom, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader)
- Lorraine Maina - Venture Partner (15+ years in tech: Microsoft, ABSA, Unilever; Head of Enterprise Sales and Retail Products)
Portfolio Overview
Portfolio Size: 25+ active portfolio companies with $89B+ aggregate valuation
Portfolio Composition: Strong representation across fintech (15+ companies), cleantech (5+ companies), healthtech, ecommerce, HR tech, and data infrastructure.
Notable Recent Investments:
- Octavia Carbon (Kenya, 2024) - Direct Air Capture company
- Wattnow (Tunisia, 2024) - Cleantech
- Odola (Nigeria, 2025) - Commercial banking
Recent Activity & Fund Status
Recent Investments (2024-2025):
- February 2025: Odola (Commercial Banking)
- October 2024: Octavia Carbon (Direct Air Capture, Kenya)
- September 2024: Wattnow (Cleantech, Tunisia)
Activity Pattern: Fund II is in active deployment phase with consistent investment activity focusing on core sectors while expanding into adjacent verticals.
Investment Process & Value Addition
Decision Structure: Partnership model with co-founder and partner involvement
Value Addition Beyond Capital:
- Local market expertise and connections across Nairobi, Lagos, California, New York
- Team building and talent sourcing support
- Customer acquisition and sales enablement
- Regulatory navigation and compliance support
- Capital raising support and investor introductions
- Operational guidance and strategic partnerships
Founder testimonials consistently highlight Lateral's value in thorough financial diligence, business fundamentals strengthening, and active post-investment partnership.
Founder Preferences & Philosophy
Lateral actively seeks:
- Resourceful founders who can build scalable solutions in complex markets
- Local experts with global vision - deep understanding of frontier market pain points combined with globally applicable thinking
- Technical founders with shipping experience and proven execution
- Integrity-focused teams committed to sustainable, long-term value creation
Core operating principles:
- Relentless Curiosity - Embracing ambiguity, questioning status quo, testing assumptions
- Resourcefulness - Focusing on founder resourcefulness over available resources
- Founder First - Investing in exceptional people committed to integrity and mutual respect
- Long Term - Building lasting businesses and relationships
Competitive Positioning
Lateral is the specialist frontier market VC combining:
- Deep local knowledge with international venture capital best practices
- Early-stage focus (Seed and Series A primary)
- Sector specialization (fintech and cleantech)
- Operational support and post-investment partnership
- Network spanning developed and emerging markets