El-Rufai stages private sector return, to launch $100 million firm

The former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has announced his return to the private sector as he plans to launch a $100 million venture capital in the coming year.

The 63-year-old ex-governor, who was denied an appointment in Tinubu’s administration, said the firm will be around the Kaduna tech ecosystem.

In addition, El-Rufai noted that he is willing to stake $2 million of his money for the offtake of the fund.

Posting on his X handle, the statesman revealed that the company will kick off by January 2024.

He said, “I can confirm that our VC-PE firm, Afri-Venture Capital Company Ltd will by the Grace of God, begin operations initially in Abuja in January 2024 with Jimi Lawal, Hafiz Bayero, Eyo Ekpo, and Kabir Yabo as founding directors and initial shareholders. I am privileged to be the part-time Chairman of the Board

“Please pray for our success and the Nigerian (and shortly African) innovators and entrepreneurs we hope to finance, nurture, and mentor to be the Dangote Group of the future.”

What You Should Know

El-Rufai was the governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023. He also served as a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2003 to 2007 under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Earlier in August, El-Rufai controversially withdrew his name from the ministerial nominee list of President Bola Tinubu after he failed to pass a review by the security agency.

The ex-governor of Kaduna had once described himself as an “Accidental Public Servant,” adding that he was never really interested in working for the government but was drawn in by fate to the profession.

Speaking in a recent interview about his new capital venture project, El-Rufai told a reporter,

“What young people need is essentially mentoring and financing to get things going. They develop the idea and see whether it is viable. And we will open doors for them because they don’t have contact. They don’t know or have access to ministers, presidents, or regulatory agencies. We do. We know the minefields that they have to navigate. We know that they need to give them appointments and we can provide them with the startup funding and in return we take an equity position.

We don’t want to take your business; we want to develop it. But if we take the risk on you, we will take a percentage of the business.”