<article>The founders of startup incubator EFI Hub have sold their interest in the venture to UK-based private equity fund Acorn Capital ahead of a planned Asia expansion for the latter.</article>

The founders of startup incubator EFI Hub have sold their interest in the venture to UK-based private equity fund Acorn Capital ahead of a planned Asia expansion for the latter.
Acorn Capital, a corporate finance and investment company, helps companies refinance their business via debt and equity as well as expand their business through acquisitions, merger or disposal.
EFI Hub co-founder Anu Shah confirmed the development to DEALSTREETASIA. While Shah refrained from sharing financial details, sources familiar with the development have pegged the value of the deal at around $10 million.
Shah, who owned 70 per cent stake in EFI Hub, intends to use the proceeds from the share sale solely towards charity. &#8220;I have worked with Congolese and Burundi refugees in Rwanda. And I worked on giving vocational training to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. I will donate 30 per cent of the capital to the UNHCR to establish resettlement and rehabilitate programs for these refugees. The rest I will be donating to non-profits focused on women empowerment and support for child sexual abuse victims in Asia and Africa.&#8221;
Co-founded by Shah at Harvard University, EFI Hub was set up one and a half years ago and has raised more than $300,000 from angel investors till now. It has since mentored several tech businesses in Africa and India, raised thousands of dollars for its portfolio companies, and worked with the South African government on its technology investment policy and infrastructure.
EFI Hub is currently mentoring over 30 startups based out of Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa. Its portfolio comprises startups in the fintech, ed-tech and social impact space. Post acquisition, Acorn Capital may be looking to acquire some of the startups or undertake a portfolio rejig.
Incidentally, Shah was a former employee at Acorn Capital, which is buying out EFI Hub. &#8220;Since she was a previous employee, she knew the team and also their pain points of deal sourcing and scaling of business in Africa. She knew that the startup accelerator would resolve their problem,&#8221; said a person close to the development.
After EFI Hub, Shah is looking to set up two startups in New York for which she has already received $4 million in angel investment. The ventures are said to be in the HR-tech and mentoring spaces.

Founders of startup incubator EFI Hub have sold interest in venture to UK-based private equity fund Acorn Capital ahead of a planned Asia expansion for the latter.

UK-based Acorn Capital buys Africa-focused startup incubator EFI Hub

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UK-based Acorn Capital buys Africa-focused startup incubator EFI Hub

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