GO FURTHER, FASTER WITH ANTLER IN NIGERIA
We are the best place for ambitious founders building in Africa.
Eight weeks to build, surrounded by outliers, supported by partners who've built and backed companies themselves. Up to $250,000 at pre-seed. We back you across rounds, matching capital to your momentum.
Lagos
Build with outliers
Join a curated network and work alongside exceptional founders who raise the bar.
Validate your ideas
Get hands-on mentorship from experienced founders and operators who’ve built and scaled successful startups.
Raise VC funding
Get your first VC check from us of up to $250k and more than $1 million in tech credits. We can fund portfolio outliers from pre-seed till Series-C.
Partner with a global leader
Scale your startup with a global partner that offers expertise and connections across 6 continents.
WHO IS ANTLER IN NIGERIA FOR?
We’re an early-stage VC looking for people committed to turning their ambitious ideas into game-changing businesses for Africa.
If you're an early-stage venture looking for your first capital, or just have an idea in the making, Antler is the right place for you to bring that venture to the next level!
Our Africa VC fund is sector-agnostic and funds scalable tech- and tech-light innovation for Africa.
We invest up to $250k, split into an initial ticket of $100k for 10% equity plus an additional pre-committed $150k to match your next VC-led funding round and terms.
In addition, we offer all founders (whether funded or not) more than $850k in tech credits, free office space in our founder community, and access to Antler’s global network of mentors, investors and fellow founders.
Individuals
Do you have a great startup idea you’d love to launch?
Start Date: September 14, 2026
Antler brings together a small group of ambitious individuals for an in-person Sandbox in Lagos where we turn an idea into a market-ready product and funded startup in just 8 weeks. As prior founders, we know that the founder journey can be both tough and lonely sometimes, so why not meet, learn, and co-create in our community with exceptional builders and advisors - all set up to get you going further and faster!
Join us to turn your startup vision into reality!
Teams
Already have a dream team or an MVP-stage startup?
Start Date: September 14, 2026
Early-stage teams with an MVP or early customer validation are welcome to apply to Antler for pre-seed funding. Antler’s due diligence in an existing startup team is through an 8-week in-person Sandbox, uniquely designed to accelerate each startup through advisors and revenue-generating opportunities - all designed to expand your network and reach new milestones further and faster.
We believe this is the best way to get to know the startup teams we invest in (and for founders to get to know us), building a strong foundation for a long-term investor relationship. Through its local and global funds, Antler can fund its portfolio from pre-seed to Series C.
Application
Apply as an individual if it's just you. Apply as a team if you're two or more. Either way, come with an idea you're ready to build. Submit at antler.co/apply.
Please include your LinkedIn URL or CV so we can properly assess your application.
The whole process is built to understand how you think; not only how well you pitch. That starts with the application: put real thought into your answers. We're reading for your conviction and your insight, not a polished AI draft, and we can tell the difference.
Screening interview (30 minutes).
A first call with one of our associates. We're listening for conviction you can defend and a real reason why you are the best founder to build. Come ready to talk through:
- The idea, and why it will still matter in ten years
- Why you, why this problem and what you understand about it that most people get wrong
- What you've already built, or tested to move it forward
Partner interview
If you make it through, we'll invite you to meet one of our partners in person in Lagos or virtually if you're outside it. Depending on your background, it's a technical or business problem-solving conversation.
The point isn't a polished answer; it's how you reason through a problem. We'll tell you what to prepare.
The Sandbox
What to expect once you join Antler in Nigeria
For eight weeks, your focus is building and finding real validation; testing your product with customers, sharpening your model, and assembling the evidence behind an investable case.
Support is there whenever you reach for it: strategy sessions, office hours, technical advisory, and mentors, operators, and industry experts on call. To test your product in the sandbox, we give you office space and more than $400k in software, cloud, AI, and infrastructure credits.
Two things are fixed for every team:
- Weekly pitches, where you show what you've built and improved.
- Partner check-ins, where we pressure-test your thinking and your case.
Pivots are expected. What we're really watching is how you move when the plan breaks. We bring the conviction, the capital, and the network; you bring the depth to what you're building.
Pitch to the Investment Committee
At the end of the Sandbox, teams that are ready pitch to Antler's Investment Committee. Teams that pass receive $100,000 as a direct investment for 10%, plus up to $150,000 in follow-on capital when you raise your next institutional round.
The Investment
Antler’s first investment in a company is up to $250k, split into an initial $100k ticket for 10% equity, plus an additional pre-committed $150k to match your next VC-led investor round and terms. In a tough funding climate, we believe this matching capital will make it easier to close your next funding round, and minimise founder dilution early-on by investing the second amount at the next round valuation.
In addition, we offer more than $850k in tech credits to all founders joining Antler (which goes up to $2 million in value once a founder becomes an Antler portfolio company), free office space in our founder community, and access to Antler’s global network of mentors, investors and fellow founders!
Antler was genuinely life-changing. Beyond the funding, the biggest value was being challenged to confront my business with complete honesty. The team pushed me to focus on what truly mattered, strip away the fluff, and build Forti Foods with greater clarity and discipline. Antler transformed how I think as a founder. The investment accelerated our journey, but the experience itself was invaluable.
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People often think the biggest value Antler brings is the cheque. For us, it has been everything that comes after. From partner support and founder advice to strategic introductions, world-class resources and a genuinely helpful community, Antler has consistently helped us move faster and make better decisions as we build Cubbes.
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We came into Antler with a strong conviction of a problem, and the amazing team helped turn that into a real company in just 8 weeks. Antler truly lives up to its Further, Faster ethos.
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The Antler team is truly in it with you. They don’t just provide money but are there for advice, intros, moral support, and most importantly community: the people we meet and interact with are just incredible through the Antler network. It not only makes founding easier but so much fun!
What I love about Antler is when you have them on your cap table, you're not just getting $$$ but the most amazing community of founders & investors, as well as a war chest of resources to build your company with.
Companies in the Antler Africa portfolio are disrupting the continent by solving real challenges
35+
Portfolio companies
$20m+
Follow-on debt funding raised
500+
Founders supported
$35m+
Follow-on equity funding raised
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FREQUENTLY —ASKED QUESTIONS
Whether you’re refining an idea, building your product, or looking to unlock the next stage of growth, we’re looking for exceptional founders. What matters is that you understand the problem deeply, have a unique insight into the solution, and the conviction to test it quickly. We invest on clear terms and back founders ready to build.
An idea is a great place to start, as long as it's one you're ready to build. We back founders before they have a product, and the Sandbox is exactly where you sharpen the problem, test your solution, and find real validation. It helps if you've already done a little of the early work, a few customer conversations, some research, a rough prototype, and you come ready to move from day one.
We're sector agnostic, so build in whatever industry you're passionate about. What we care about is a founder with real insight and the creativity to build something that can compete and scale. We're drawn to people who solve problems in ways others do not, whether through the use of technology or a unique approach. The sector matters far less than whether you're the right person to tackle this problem, and how quickly you can prove it.
While we don't formally assign or match co-founders, you'll be in a room with a small, selective group of exceptional founders, and we're happy to introduce you to people from our talent pool. If a co-founder relationship forms between you two, it's because you aligned on values and vision, not because we paired you up.
If you're already building with someone, apply together as a team. Your co-founder doesn't need to submit a separate application, but we will want to meet them and see how you work together, because the strength of the founding team is a big part of what we back.
You're welcome here, and you'll go through the same eight-week Sandbox, with the build front and centre. Eight weeks of real focus, direct partner time, and expert advisory on hand will move a product further than months spent grinding alone. Use it to sharpen what you've built, push it further, and put together a strong investment case.
Two conversations, each with a clear purpose. First, a 30-minute screening call with one of our associates, where we're listening for conviction you can defend and why you're the right person to build this. If you make it through, you'll meet one of our partners in person in Lagos or virtually if you're based elsewhere.
That one's a technical or business problem-solving conversation. Don't worry about a polished pitch; we care about how you think and how fast you can build. We'll always tell you what to prepare.
Absolutely. The Antler in Nigeria community is open to founders across Africa who are ready to relocate to Lagos and build here. The Sandbox is in person and full-time, so you'll need to be on the ground in Lagos for the eight weeks.
Antler is a founder-led sandbox that gives you the tools and support to build. You get capital from inception, eight weeks alongside outlier founders, and a partner who keeps investing in you. We don't just write a cheque; we build the environment from which great companies come.
MEET THE TEAM
Anil is a Partner at Antler Africa, based in Lagos. He has an impressive track record that includes founding Toronto’s first restaurant delivery service, he is no stranger to leveraging pioneering technology to disrupt traditional industries. He has spent the better part of the last two decades, building and scaling businesses across diverse sectors in Nigeria, including FMCG, renewable energy, agro-allied industries, and construction. His hands-on operational consulting for major startups such as Jumia, along with advisory services for over 100 startups, showcases his extensive experience supporting entrepreneurs across various stages of growth.
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Lola is a Partner at Antler Africa, based in Lagos. She brings years of leadership experience across the technology, agriculture, and mobility sectors on the continent. She has held senior roles at several high-impact companies, including Google, OLX, Babban Gona, and most recently Bolt, where she led operations across multiple African markets.Her track record spans scaling businesses, driving operational excellence, and leading high-performing teams across diverse environments. Lola holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and is deeply passionate about building companies that deliver meaningful impact in Africa
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Daniel is an Associate at Antler Africa based in Lagos. He brings expertise in program management, product development, and venture operations. Previously, he worked at Techstars as an Operations Associate. He is a generalist with experience in working and consulting for early-stage startups and organizations on venture building, fundraising readiness, and product development initiatives. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Ibadan.
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Ifelayo is a Finance Associate at Antler Lagos, where she supports portfolio management, investor relations, and financial operations.
Before joining Antler, she worked as a Financial Analyst at Guaranty Trust Bank, focusing on financial performance and liquidity management. She also spent several years at KPMG, leading compliance reviews and delivering financial advisory services for clients in the energy and financial services sectors.
Ifelayo holds a BSc in Genetics from the University of Lagos and is a Chartered Accountant (ACA).
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Aaron is an Associate at Antler, based in Lagos, where he supports early-stage founders and leads scouting efforts across West Africa.
He started as a frontend engineer before moving into building companies. Before joining Antler, he founded and ran ventures in fintech and led a software development studio that built products across several verticals. He knows what it takes to take a product from nothing to market. His most recent experience before Antler was at Sycamore, where he led Research and Development. Aaron holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Covenant University.
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