Eloho Omame is an early-stage investor and a strong advocate for gender and inclusion in VC in Africa. She’s a Partner at TLcom Capital, a seed-to-growth stage VC firm, and a Co-Founder and General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, an early-stage VC firm investing in tech start-ups founded or co-founded by women.
“In my new role at TLcom Capital, I’m excited to bring additional senior capacity to the firm’s high-touch approach with entrepreneurs and support deal flow generation at the pre-seed stage, as it doubles down on its commitment to Africa’s thriving tech opportunity with its $150m second fund, TIDE Africa II, which announced its first close in January this year.” She said.
Omame co-founded FirstCheck Africa in 2021. FirstCheck Africa’s investment portfolio includes start-ups in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, led by female founders building in financial services, education, healthcare and retail/commerce. Through FirstCheck Africa, she is committed to helping Africa’s exceptional female entrepreneurial talent build great companies.
TLcom Capital invests in Africa’s best entrepreneurs tackling the continent’s biggest challenges. Its portfolio includes a number of impressive high-growth companies, such as Twiga Foods, Ilara Health, Pula, Shara, Okra, Ulesson and Autocheck. The firm’s TIDE Africa Fund I ($70M) was the first on the continent to meet the G7’s 2X Criteria for gender lens investing. TIDE Africa Fund II (target: $150M) is actively investing.
From 2018 to 2021, Eloho launched and operated Endeavor in Nigeria, serving as its inaugural Managing Director & CEO. Under her leadership, Endeavor Nigeria developed an impressive portfolio of services to support Nigeria’s growing community of high-growth entrepreneurs leading companies at the scale-up stage.
In 2017, on behalf of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, under the auspices of one of Africa’s largest sub-national governments, she delivered “Lagos Innovates”, a first-of-its-kind portfolio of programs that she conceptualised, designed and implemented. Lagos Innovates has helped thousands of entrepreneurs launch their technology ventures.
On entrepreneurship, Eloho says entrepreneurs are crucial for economic growth, but not all entrepreneurial firms are important contributors to economic productivity. According to her, the best entrepreneurs drive innovation, create high-quality jobs, spread wealth and wider prosperity, contributing to vibrant markets that boast inclusion and sustainability.
“Entrepreneurs that have the desire and potential to create businesses that will scale are rare.” She submits.
She was a Vice President at General Atlantic, led Corporate Development at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and has served investment banking clients in the UK and Nigeria at Credit Suisse and Renaissance Capital.
Eloho Omame holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science and an MBA from the London Business School.
