News
TLcom Capital Appoints Eloho Omame as Partner
TLcom, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, has appointed Eloho Omame as a Partner, bolstering its capabilities as it ramps up deployment of TIDE Africa Fund II, its new $150mn pan-African tech fund.
As well as focusing on the firm’s traditional remit of seed to Series B investments in high-growth, tech-enabled startups, Eloho will bring more senior capacity to TLcom’s high-touch approach with entrepreneurs and support deal flow generation at the pre-seed stage, as TLcom doubles down on its commitment to Africa’s thriving tech opportunity. There will be even greater emphasis on attracting more female-led companies into TLcom’s portfolio.
Eloho is a Co-Founder & General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, a female-focused early-stage venture capital firm that has to-date invested in ten high-growth tech start-ups with a female founder or co-founder.
Eloho will combine her new role at TLcom with her existing responsibilities at FirstCheck Africa, which was founded in January 2021 to address the severe funding gap for Africa’s female tech entrepreneurs. TLcom will also support the launch of FirstCheck Africa’s $10mn debut fund with a $2mn co-investment commitment from its TIDE Africa Fund II.
With a professional career spanning more than 20 years, including time at General Atlantic, FirstBank Nigeria and Credit Suisse, Eloho brings a wealth of expertise to the team.
An important contributor to the startup and venture capital ecosystem in Africa, she has worked with several of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs, companies and teams, supporting their ambition to transform the continent’s heavily underserved markets and economies.
As the founding Managing Director of Endeavor Nigeria, she led the company’s mission to drive high-impact entrepreneurship, creating a leading membership community that includes tech founders from pioneering startups such as Paga, Migo and Flutterwave.
Eloho’s track record in early-stage investing will prove vital as TLcom expands its current portfolio from 13 companies to 30. With TLcom widening the range of its core ticket sizes to $500k – $15mn, the firm will continue to primarily target seed to Series B founders that are tackling some of the continent’s most complex challenges in sectors including fintech, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, education and ecommerce. Geographically, TLcom will expand its traditional focus on East and West Africa to include North Africa, starting with Egypt.
Speaking on TLcom’s expansion and the appointment of Eloho, Maurizio Caio, Founder and Managing Partner at TLcom, says “With the launch of our new fund, we are more committed than ever to Africa. As we partner with more entrepreneurs, it is vital that we are able to maintain our existing level of high-quality, on-the-ground strategic support to unlock the full value-generation potential of these companies. With our portfolio companies, and our investors, we are building for the long term and fully focused on the upside of the tech sector.”
“We are especially proud to strengthen our team with a Partner of Eloho’s calibre — a seasoned investor who mirrors our founder-first ethos, and will play a critical role in enabling us to deepen our commitment to the founder journey in Africa through her early-stage experience.
“Equally, her expertise will prove invaluable in strengthening our existing support for female entrepreneurs. We look forward to working with Eloho to drive the next phase of our mission to transform Africa’s key verticals through tech-enabled solutions.”
Following the first close of its new $150mn fund announced in January 2022, TLcom has gained even greater momentum, with a number of additional commitments to its fund and significant new deal flow for its growing portfolio. The firm recently led a $10mn Series A round in Seamless HR, a Nigerian platform providing payroll and HR software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to companies in Africa and a seed round in Pastel, a Nigerian fintech company.
Eloho Omame, Partner at TLcom, adds “It’s an honour to join one of the most prestigious investors in African tech. TLcom has seen the benefits of an early-stage approach through the success of both new and repeat founders in TIDE Africa Fund I. As we deploy capital from TIDE Africa Fund II, it’s crucial that we continue to win the race to find the continent’s best entrepreneurs and support their companies to scale.”
“The firm has always demonstrated its commitment to Africa and to the development of its startup ecosystem. It’s exciting to be in a position of mission-alignment with respect to female founders and I’m thrilled to step up the important work we’ve started at FirstCheck Africa with this incredible show of support from an established, high-calibre fund like TLcom.”
Eloho’s appointment increases TLcom’s experienced and growing team from four to five Partners, comprising Founder and Managing Partner Maurizio Caio based in Kenya, Senior Partner Omobola Johnson based in Nigeria, and Partners Andreata Muforo in Kenya, and Ido Sum in the UK. With the new addition, TLcom’s senior leadership is now 60% female.
Ogba Ogbaga, an Abuja-based lawyer, has said that he has been instructed to institute legal proceedings against MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, 9mobile and MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DStv, over what he described as unfair consumer practices relating to expiring data bundles and television subscriptions.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ogbaga said his law firm, GIMBG Legals, received instructions from its client, KAA, also known as KaaTruths, to challenge the companies’ subscription policies in court.
According to him, the proposed suit will question whether telecom operators and DStv’s subscription models comply with provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and other applicable laws.
Ogbaga alleged that telecom providers operate internet data services that are unfair to consumers, claiming subscribers sometimes do not receive the services they paid for but still lose their subscriptions once the validity period expires.
He also criticised DStv’s subscription model, arguing that consumers lose paid viewing time due to factors such as power outages, adverse weather conditions and service interruptions, while subscriptions continue to count down regardless.
“Our clients have complained that MTN data services are unduly one-sided,” Ogbaga said, adding that the legal action would also extend to other telecommunications providers and DStv.
He said the court action would seek judicial determination on whether the companies’ subscription practices comply with consumer protection laws.
The lawyer also invited interested legal practitioners to collaborate on the case, saying his firm would provide updates as the matter progresses.
In a separate Facebook post on Wednesday, Ogbaga said previous policy discussions, town hall meetings and debates at the National Assembly had failed to address the concerns raised by consumers.
He argued that telecom operators regularly carry out maintenance and network upgrades that temporarily disrupt services without extending customers’ subscription periods, while DStv subscribers also lose viewing time because of electricity outages and weather-related disruptions.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has commenced the issuance of new licence certificates to insurance companies that successfully met the industry’s new minimum capital requirements, marking the formal beginning of a new regulatory era aimed at strengthening the financial capacity, governance and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s insurance sector.
At a ceremony held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, presented the new licence certificates to compliant operators, describing the exercise as a major milestone in the industry’s recapitalisation programme.
According to the Commission, a total of 43 insurance companies declared compliant with the new capital requirements are expected to receive the new licence certificates in phases.
Omosehin congratulated the successful companies, saying the issuance of the new licences signals the beginning of a stronger regulatory framework anchored on improved capitalisation, sound corporate governance, innovation and sustainable growth.
He urged operators to leverage their enhanced capital base to develop innovative insurance products, improve operational efficiency and deepen insurance penetration across the country.
The Commissioner said the Commission expects the recapitalised companies to deliver stronger financial performance while maintaining high standards of professionalism and customer service.
He also announced that NAICOM’s next major regulatory initiative would be the implementation of the Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework, under which insurers’ capital levels would be aligned with the risks inherent in their respective business portfolios.
According to him, the new framework will further strengthen the industry’s resilience by ensuring that insurers maintain capital commensurate with the risks they underwrite, thereby enhancing policyholder protection and boosting market confidence.
Omosehin reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to removing regulatory impediments where necessary while maintaining effective oversight to safeguard policyholders and strengthen confidence in the insurance market.
The issuance of the new licence certificates marks the commencement of a phased transition to higher capital standards aimed at improving the financial capacity, solvency and claims-paying ability of insurance companies operating in Nigeria.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
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