General News
Global Venture Capital Investment Fell by 30% to $73B in Q3 2023 -Report
Venture capital investment fell sharply in the third quarter of 2023, with global deal value down 30% year-on-year to $73 billion, according to market researcher, PitchBook.
This is the lowest level of quarterly VC investment since the second quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit.
The decline in VC investment is being driven by several factors, including rising interest rates, inflation, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
These factors are making investors more cautious about investing in risky assets like startups.
According to a report from the Financial Times, Venture capitalists have dramatically scaled back activity this year, investing just $73 billion in the third quarter across the world. That is down from $106 billion during the same period last year, according to market researcher PitchBook.
At the same time, the number of venture-backed start-ups that sell to private equity groups has grown to 24% of total exits over the past couple of years, tripling the proportion of such deals from 2006 to 2010, according to data from the European tech corporate finance advisory Clipperton.
However, even as pressure mounts on start-ups to sell, deals are stalling as VCs squabble over whether to cash out, according to Scott Driggs, who covers private equity at Jefferies.
“Once the door closes and you crystallize those losses there’s no going back,” he said Driggs.
The expectation of investors: Investors expect that the demand for such buyouts will rise as the slowdown persists and more companies face a potential cash crunch.
“In 2024 we will see a lot more demand for our capital because, on the one hand, entrepreneurs are going to be faced with an option; Should I sell this company for scrap, or should I shut down?” Resurge’s Malinger said. “Or can we provide an alternative option for this company?”
The report said that in the years running up to 2022, VCs took minority stakes in new businesses with growth potential even if they lacked a quick path to profitability.
Steep rises in interest rates over the past year have changed that, hammering private valuations, forcing VCs to pull back, and leaving a swath of start-ups at risk of collapse.
New investment groups are raising tens of millions of dollars in funding to acquire majority ownership and operational control of start-ups to turn the businesses around.
While still in an early phase, the trend is a further sign of the difficulty many companies face as traditional venture investment chills.
In one example, investors Oren Peleg and Eyal Malinger started UK-based Resurge Growth Partners this year to raise €120 million to buy start-ups.
The veteran investors, who have previously worked at companies including Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Management and VC firm Beringea, say they have spotted a gap in the market and plan to make average investments ranging from €10 million to €30 million.
Resurge Growth will acquire start-ups to provide a turnaround, either because a previous valuation was too high and did not reflect the new market reality, or because operational changes are required.
“There’s a real opportunity here to play a very important role, which is to help companies transition from venture ownership to private equity ownership,” Peleg said. “No one is willing to send the hard message of saying this needs a reset, and that will be the role that we play.”
Other investors, such as Matthew Bradley, are also leaving venture capital to pursue start-up takeovers. Bradley, formerly chief investment officer at London-listed VC firm Forward Partners, launched Tiktok Capital last year to buy up start-ups.
Another firm, San Francisco-based Arising Ventures, has been looking to buy up start-ups with viable business models but slowing growth since its founding in 2020. Chief executive Kjerstin Erickson said that in the past year, the number of potential deals has grown fivefold.
Opportunities came up when “the company has raised more money than they are worth in the market”, she said. “We’ll do the deal if we think there’s a real business underneath.”
This year the group which is structured as a holding company rather than a fund took out a billboard in the heart of San Francisco with the slogan: “We invest in second chances.”
The trial of three employees of Wema Bank Plc and four others accused of orchestrating N8.9 billion cyber heist has been stalled due to the Eid-el-Kabir public holiday.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the bank staff—Samuel Asiegbu, Fabian Onyeimachi, and Kingsley Kejim—alongside four alleged accomplices: Hannah Okunlola Adesokan, Hamza Zakariya, Achionu Ubaku, and Sunday Osademe, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on May 25, 2025.
The seven defendants face an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime, and obtaining money under false pretences. They were accused of hacking into Wema Bank’s computer systems in January 2025 and unlawfully transferring N8,568,090,500 to various accounts.
According S.O. Larry Peters, counsel, EFCC, the defendants acted in concert with two other suspects—Nurudeen Ibrahim and Alhaji Sulaiman—who are currently at large. The syndicate allegedly manipulated the bank’s data using sophisticated digital tools to cause financial loss and confer illegal economic gains on themselves.
Peters further revealed that two of the defendants—Hannah Okunlola and Sunday Osademe—provided personal bank accounts for the illicit proceeds. Investigators traced N199 million to Okunlola’s UBA account registered under Search Light Media Concept, and N2.25 million to Osademe’s Union Bank account.
The offences, according to the charge sheet, violate Sections 6(2), 8, 14(1), 14(5), and 27(1)(a) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as well as Sections 17(a)(b) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004.
All seven defendants pleaded not guilty. Following their plea, the court remanded five of the accused in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services, while Kingsley Kejim continued on existing bail terms.
The court granted a special request by defence counsel to remand Hannah Okunlola in EFCC custody due to medical concerns.
Justice Aneke had adjourned the matter to June 6, 2025, for commencement of trial. However, due to the nationwide Sallah holiday declared by the federal government, the proceedings could not go ahead as scheduled.
A charge reads: “That you, Samuel Ihechukwu Asiegbu, Ejim Kingsley Kelechi, and others now at large, in January 2025, conspired to alter Wema Bank data to cause the loss of N8.568 billion in order to benefit economically, thereby committing an offence under Section 27(1)(a) of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.”
The case has drawn significant attention as one of the most audacious cybercrime cases involving bank insiders in Nigeria’s recent history.
The 2025 Ojude Oba celebrations kicked off on Friday evening with “Evening with Glo,” a special event organized by Globacom and headlined by Juju music legend Evangelist Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi and Fuji maestro Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (KWAM 1)
This year marks a significant milestone: Globacom’s 20th anniversary as sponsors of the Ojude Oba festival, an event it has helped transform into a globally recognized cultural spectacle.
The “Evening with Glo” was a vibrant mix of live music, delicious food, and captivating comedy from Gbenga Adeyinka, Bash, and Kiekie. The Conference Hall venue was packed as guests enjoyed more than two hours of Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi’s timeless hits, with the audience singing along and dancing.
Globacom organized the event as a gesture of appreciation to the Ijebu community for their unwavering support over the past two decades of the Ojude Oba festival. “We decided to bring together great sons and daughters of Ijebuland to celebrate our shared heritage, and indulge in the melodious rhythms that resonate deeply throughout Yorubaland,” the company stated.
The company explained their choice of musical icons, noting that the “ageless icon and Juju music maestro, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, has contributed decades of good, sonorous and philosophical songs to our society. His songs are still as fresh and full of inspirational messages as they were yesterday.”
Regarding KWAM 1, the company highlighted that “For decades, King of Fuji, K1 De Ultimate, the Fuji master, has been a great part of the music firmament in Nigeria, with his unique brand of Fuji that has elicited huge interest.”
The event saw a strong turnout of prominent Ijebu figures, including the Olori of Oba Awujale, Chief Mrs. Olukemi Adetona; the Coordinator of Ojude Oba Festival Planning Committee, Professor Fassy Yusuff; and a committee member and Iyalode of Ijebuland, Chief Mrs. Bisi Osibogun.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has emphasized the importance of developing policies that intentionally include approximately 35 million persons with special needs in digital literacy and technology empowerment initiatives.
Ms. Grace Jerry, executive director, Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) and Malam Kashifu Inuwa, director-general, NITDA.
This was stated by Malam Kashifu Inuwa, director-general, NITDA, in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation from the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), a disability advocacy organization led by Ms. Grace Jerry, its executive director.
Inuwa noted that integrating persons with special needs into these programmes supports President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of economic reform and inclusive growth.
“This has brought to my attention the need to be more intentional in the way we design our programmes because there is no way we can achieve 95 per cent digital inclusion if we exclude 35 million Nigerians.”
“The agency has always been conducting targeted training for people with special needs in various parts of the country in the past.
“We will ensure that we expand our initiatives to all parts of country and our office facility have that in consideration but our programmes going forward will reflect this inclusion,” he said.
The Director General recommended including representatives from the disability community in national ICT committees tasked with setting standards, designing training curricula, and shaping policy frameworks.
He emphasized that their participation would ensure adequate representation and facilitate implementation beyond bureaucratic constraints.
He further advocated for the integration of disability-focused initiatives into national programmes such as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) tech schemes, women’s training cohorts, and other major technology-driven activities. According to him, these platforms offer vital opportunities for networking, skills development, and enterprise support.
“For us, it’s beyond just training. The real goal is empowerment, how we can train people to use IT to expand their businesses and improve their lives,” Inuwa said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to strategic collaboration and invited disability-focused organisations to partner with NITDA in shaping an inclusive digital economy.
Earlier, Jerry expressed appreciation to the agency for the engagement and highlighted the digital gap within the disability community.
She said the government’s goal of achieving 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030 would only be realistic if it was truly inclusive.
“Digital literacy is fast becoming a foundational skill for employment, and without deliberate inclusion, millions will be left behind,” Jerry said.
The meeting highlighted NITDA’s growing commitment to inclusive policy development, aligned with the nation’s economic reform agenda.
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