Uduanu, Sigma Pensions Boss Seeks Venture Capital Funding for Startups

Mr Dave Uduanu, the managing director and chief executive officer, Sigma Pensions, has announced that startups in Nigeria and Africa require more venture capital funding to accelerate their growth.

A statement quoted Uduanu as making this declaration at the maiden edition of ‘Founders and Funders’ event organised by Melon Capital in Lagos, where startups and investors converged to network and rub minds.

Uduanu explained that as much as startups focused on the importance of getting funding, they also needed to ensure they embedded good corporate structures which were pivotal to growth.

According to him,  “The more venture capital funding is available, the better for the economy because when you find very talented founders and you give them substantial money, they can fast track and grow their business.

“So, I guess, for me, the more venture funding we have in Nigeria and in Africa, the better and the easier it is to build these big companies and unicorns as they are so-called.”

He posited that startups should have good corporate governance and management structure from the outset.

“Investors in startups should ensure where they are investing in have good corporate governance, good management structures in these companies,” he added.

Partner at SouthBridge Group and former Chief Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation, Mr Andrew Alli, also speaking on the importance of corporate governance, said, “Corporate governance is super important.

Alli said “Certainly, when I was at AFC and when talking about startups, we did many studies about the best predictors of success of our investments, and corporate governance was more often than not, a better predictor of success.

“Also, I think the corporate governance needs to evolve with a company.”

Mr Kachi Izukanne, the Co-Founder, Trade Depot, said corporate governance was important for startups to scale.

Izukanne said, “Corporate governance is vital because it is a constant reminder to you as a founder why it is important to have corporate governance in place and why it is important to do things the right way.

“As a business, you would get further because of the structures you put in place. Also, there is value in private investors of all sorts adopting similar mechanisms to help ensure the right corporate governance structures are in place in the companies they invest in.”