“This is the first of many minority funds,” says Europe’s first black solo VC GP

The first black solo general partner (GP) of a European venture capital firm says that more “minority funds” will follow suit.

Maria Rotilu, founder and GP, OpenseedVC, said “it’s not ideal” that she is the first black solo GP of a European venture capital firm.

Rotilu said:

“That’s the case but that’s not a focus for us. I really believe that this is the first of many minority funds. 

“But as a fund strategy, we just want to back really incredible operators wherever they may be, wherever, you know, they are across Europe and Africa, whatever they may look like.”

Rotilu was speaking to Tech.eu after launching OpenseedVC, which is investing in experienced operators with cheques up to $150,000 across Europe and Africa.

Rotilu discusses her own background, the provenance of OpenSeedVC and its ambitions.

She also talked about the challenges of being a solo GP.

Rotilu said:

“I would say that there are definitely some institutions that don’t chat with solo GPs, they perceive it to be a risk as a one woman, one man team.”

But she said being a solo GP is “more superpower than a weakness I think because we can make decisions quickly”.

The GP also talked about the challenges and potential of investing in Africa.

She said:

“I would say it’s early days for Africa. It’s the perfect time to be going there. There’s a lot of innovation and, most importantly, there’s a lot of talent coming out of Africa.”