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Daraja Capital, which has been a consultant to diverse business owners since 2016, said its Seed Capital platform, which it founded last year, made its first investment.
The investment in Sellac Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based venture capital firm founded by Kevin Moore that seeks startups with non-traditional founders, is emblematic of what Darajah has been trying to foster in the financial services space. are doing. Daraja Capital CEO Raudline Etienne founded the company to bridge the gap between first-time capital and diverse managers.
“We are happy to partner with a company that approaches its field in a similar way to us. From our point of view, the amplification effect is positive,” Etienne said. Institutional investor.
Mr. Moore was previously a partner at Spar Capital Partners and has more than 18 years of experience in the private markets, but the partnership with Daraja will provide a meaningful boost to his young firm.
“Working with Daraja Capital provides Serac Ventures with greater credibility in a market that would normally take years to build,” said Moore. “Loudline brings a wealth of investment experience and connections to the private markets industry, and we are very excited to begin our partnership with her and the entire Daraja team.”
Serac focuses on early-stage fintech, SaaS, and commerce companies, as well as future of work and creator economy startups. The company plans to use the funds from Daraja to launch its first fund. Serac typically invests between $500,000 and $750,000 in companies. It was not disclosed how much Daraja invested in Serac.
As it happens, the first asset class Daraja invested in was venture capital.it is Rough few years for VCs. “While we recognize that financing is likely to continue to be difficult, Serac intends to invest in an environment where founder expectations and valuations are more reasonable,” Etienne said.
Darajja is also looking to partner with managers in private equity, real estate, credit and special situation strategies. How we interact with partners is flexible and varied. Daraja provides the asset manager with working capital, equity against commitments by the general partner, and can invest in its funds as a limited partner. They also want to align their interests with those of their companies, potentially sharing profits, participating in carry, or co-investing.
Other companies have a mission to: Seed Diversity Fund Manager or help me get started Investment strategy that emphasizes diversity. With experience as both a consultant and an allocator, Etienne will help Daraja stand out. She previously served as chief investment officer for the New York State Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest public pension funds in the United States with more than $254 billion in assets, and currently works for investment consultant Rogers Casey, known as Segal Marko. I did.
Institutional investors collectively hold trillions of dollars in assets, much of which is allocated to alternative managers. Daraja is looking to allocate more allocations to fund managers that have been overlooked in the past.
“For every legendary investor, there was someone who made the first move,” Etienne says. “The institutional investor community needs to broaden its reach.”
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