Nigeria’s 2027 general election will not deter Antler from investing in the country’s startup ecosystem, as the global early-stage venture capital firm maintains that its long-term investment strategy outweighs short-term political and economic uncertainties, Magnus Grimeland, its founder and chief executive officer, has said.
Grimeland told BusinessDay that venture capital operates on a longer investment horizon than public markets, where investors may delay commitments while waiting for political developments to become clearer.
For Antler, which backs founders from the earliest stages of company building, the priority is identifying businesses capable of creating significant value over the next decade.
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“Venture is not like that. We are thinking like 10-year bets,” Grimeland said when asked whether investors could become cautious about Nigeria as the country approaches its next general election.
He said the firm would continue identifying exceptional founders and providing capital regardless of the electoral cycle, arguing that investors who withdraw during uncertain periods risk missing companies that could become major technology businesses.
The position comes as Nigeria’s startup ecosystem faces the challenge of attracting sustained early-stage capital amid currency pressures, economic uncertainty and changing global venture funding conditions. Political uncertainty ahead of the 2027 elections could add another layer of caution for investors assessing the country’s business environment.
However, Grimeland argued that venture capital investors must remain consistent across economic cycles because the biggest returns often come from companies built during difficult periods.
“Unless you invest in every single vintage, you are going to lose out on the outliers,” he said, referring to exceptional startups capable of generating returns that compensate for losses across a venture capital portfolio.
Antler’s commitment also reflects its ambition to deepen its presence in Africa. Grimeland said the firm expects to back at least 100 new companies across the continent over the next five years, with Nigeria becoming an increasingly important part of that expansion.
The firm has already increased its Nigerian investment activity and expects to back between 15 and 20 startups this year, compared with about 10 previously, according to Grimeland.
He said Antler’s Nigerian expansion had taken time because the firm wanted to establish the right local leadership and team before committing to a broader investment programme.
Beyond providing initial funding, the firm intends to remain involved in the companies it backs through subsequent financing rounds, introductions to international investors, customer networks and access to talent.
Grimeland cited Antler’s experience with portfolio companies such as Airalo and Lovable to illustrate its strategy of backing founders early and supporting their growth into larger businesses.
The approach is particularly relevant to African startups, where access to follow-on funding remains a critical challenge after initial investments. For founders, securing an initial cheque is only one part of the funding journey; building businesses capable of attracting successive rounds of capital is equally important.
Grimeland said Antler’s investment philosophy centres on three qualities: exceptional founding teams, ambitious business visions and clear plans for achieving their first commercial milestones.
He argued that founders must combine the ambition to build globally competitive companies with practical execution, including identifying their first paying customers and establishing a pathway to revenue.
On the broader Nigerian economy, Grimeland expressed optimism about the country’s prospects over the next decade, predicting greater stability and improved economic conditions compared with the previous decade, although he acknowledged the possibility of unexpected political and economic disruptions.
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He said Antler’s decision to continue investing was based on the conviction that Nigeria would create more opportunities over the long term, rather than on expectations that the country would avoid short-term setbacks.
Founded in Singapore in 2017, Antler backs entrepreneurs from the earliest stages of company formation and operates across multiple global markets. Its portfolio includes more than 2,000 companies, reflecting its strategy of identifying founders before their businesses become established investment opportunities.
For Nigeria, the significance of Antler’s position extends beyond its immediate investment commitments. A sustained pipeline of early-stage funding could help strengthen the country’s startup formation, improve access to international venture networks and increase the chances of locally founded companies scaling into global businesses.
Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.
