General Partner - Africa, Nairobi

About Antler

Antler is the investor backing the world’s most driven founders, from day zero to greatness. Founded on the belief that people innovating is the key to building a better future, we partner with people across six continents to launch and scale high-potential startups that address meaningful opportunities and challenges. Knowing that exceptional founders can come from anywhere with any background, we have offices in 26 cities, including Austin, New York, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Bangalore, Jakarta, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Sydney.

Our global community backs people from the beginning with co-founder matching, deep business model validation, initial capital, expansion support, and follow-on funding. Fueled by a personal passion that goes beyond traditional investing, we have helped create and invested in more than 1,000 startups across a wide range of industries and technologies, with the goal of backing more than 6,000 by 2030.

A better future won’t happen automatically—the world needs talented, determined, and resilient people to build it. Antler team members are part of an ambitious global community dedicated to helping the most driven founders move the world forward. We ease the path to entrepreneurship so more exceptional people can launch and scale companies that disrupt the status quo, create employment, contribute to GDP, and drive technology development and adoption. As the world presents an ever-increasing number of opportunities and challenges, founders are more needed than ever to address them. Join us to support them and help make progress inevitable.

Core Responsibilities

• Build and lead an exceptional team: Antler GPs are responsible for building and running their own location and team, including program managers, recruiters, support staff, and others
• Raise the second Antler Africa Fund and support global fundraising efforts: Work with a global and local fundraising team of experienced partners to raise the second Africa fund, with capacity to back 75 portfolio companies over 4-5 years
• Invest in 15+ companies every year: Bring in the most ambitious and brilliant potential founders to Antler, and work with founding teams from day zero to build their companies from scratch. This includes building strong co-founding teams through Antler’s Venture Building programs, brainstorming new products and business models, and coaching and mentoring of teams to help speed up execution and growth
• Build early-stage African startup pipeline: Antler Africa, while known for its numerous Pre-seed investments from its Venture Building pipeline, also invests directly in early-stage startups formed independently of Antler (30% of current Antler portfolio), often where we know the founders or co-investors well. GPs and APs will develop this pipeline by leveraging their own networks to identify outstanding early-stage opportunities for the fund
• Drive thoughtful investment decisions: Drive the selection, due diligence, and presentation of teams and founders for the Antler Investment Committee. The GPs of the African fund are collectively responsible for all investment decisions of the fund
• Support portfolio companies to achieve success: Build a deep network in the VC, angel, and strategic partner ecosystems, to support the growth of the portfolio companies and help close following funding. In later rounds, support founders in strategy and tactics, as well as use the Antler network to introduce them to customers, employees, advisors, and other supporters
• Invest in follow-on breakout successes and manage exits: Identify the highest-potential startups where Antler will be increasing its ownership stake successively, and manage potential exits over the lifetime of the fund

Core Expertise

• Demonstrated spikes in either:
  • Early-phase startup/founder experience - having founded or been a very early employee of a fast-growing successful technology company with direct operational scale-up experience and expertise, or
  • Significant experience in early-stage venture capital - with a track record of leading investments in the Pre-seed or Seed stages
• Deep networks in the local founder, VC, and angel investor ecosystems, preferably in East/West Africa
• Deep understanding and interest in current and emerging technology trends, particularly with nuances relevant to Africa
• Prior experience leading teams and individuals, having excelled in high-paced and challenging environments. Proven experience in successfully managing complicated projects
• Minimum 10 years of professional work experience

Core Attributes

• Exceptional leadership – identifies, attracts, develops, and retains high-quality teams
• Accomplished and structured problem-solver
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Independent and proactive with a focus on execution and results orientation
• Comfortable with ambiguity, quick changes, tight deadlines, and moving targets
• A genuine passion for entrepreneurship and a belief the world needs more change-makers and innovators

The Antler Proposition

• Create a legacy and have a large impact - Join us in building disruptive companies that will define the next wave of tech in Africa and beyond
• An opportunity to change the lives of hundreds of individuals about to turn into entrepreneurs
• An opportunity to build a high-volume investment track record both in early-stage companies and also in the later stages
• An opportunity to greatly impact the direction and success of Antler globally
• Competitive salary, combined with fund carry
• Participation in the broader enterprise upside from the global Antler profit pool