Keji Mustapha is the first person to hold this newly created position at Partech.
Partech, the Paris-based VC investment fund with operations in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia, announced on Monday, October 11, the addition of Keji Mustapha as Global Director of Brand & Community and Simone Riva as Senior Principal on the Venture team.
Founded in San Francisco and Paris, Partech is one of the world’s most active venture capital funds, providing capital, operational experience and strategic support to entrepreneurs at the seed, venture and growth stages. Partech’s portfolio currently includes 200 companies in 30 countries, including 9 valued at over $1 billion.
“Raising the profile of Partech”
A native of Nigeria and a British national, Keji Mustapha joins 70 employees of more than 20 nationalities at Partech. With $2 billion under management and more than 200 companies in its portfolio, including 12 unicorns (Alan, ManoMano, Rohlik, Sorare, Wave, Xendit…), Partech intends to strengthen its international footprint, explains the investment fund. A unicorn is a startup, mainly from Silicon Valley, valued at more than one billion dollars, not listed on the stock exchange and not a subsidiary of a large group.
Keji Mustapha’s objective, it is explained, is to promote Partech to entrepreneurs within the tech ecosystems and continue to grow the communities, especially in the company’s key territories, in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia. Keji Mustapha said, “This is the first time this role has been created at Partech, and I am honored to take on this role at a time when it is critical in the tech industry. Partech’s mission is to support the world’s best entrepreneurs, and to do that, we need to shine a light on founders, future and present, while supporting the current portfolio in meaningful and impactful ways.”
In addition, KeJI Mustapha is currently the Chair of EU VC Platform (EUIEB), the European Venture Capital Platform, which is a community for community builders in the European technology venture capital space and a place to ask questions, share best practices and even discuss mistakes. Keji Mustapha is also vice president of VC platform global community, a global community for leaders and portfolio managers (platform, talent, community, etc.) in the technology and multi-stage venture capital industry.
“An exceptional leader”
Creative and passionate, Partech says, Keji Mustapha is a brand and community building specialist. Previously, Keji Mustapha was head of network, brand and cultural operations at Connect Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm specializing in investments in seed-stage companies operating in the software as a service (SaaS), fintech, digital health and future of work sectors across Europe. Keji Mustapha had joined Connect Ventures in 2017, as head of the founder network. She designed the fund’s branding and recruitment strategy.
At Connect Venture, Keji Mustapha also developed founder value initiatives, company-wide branding, and people operations. She was also responsible for continuously developing ways to add value to the portfolio companies. She was particularly passionate about Connect Founder Network’s leadership development and founder wellness pillars and focused on enabling the founders in the portfolio to grow from great founders to great leaders.
Tech instead of Law
Prior to that, Keji Mustapha spent 5 years as Head of Operations at Elvie, a FemTech startup in London, advising early-stage startups on operations and strategic partnerships.
Keji Mustapha, it is explained, discovered her passion for startups after graduating law school and qualifying to become a lawyer. However, it is reported, she quickly realized that this was not the right career path for her.
In addition to her work, Keji Mustapha is actively involved in giving back to the community and mentoring the next generation of female founders and leaders, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds trying to break into the tech industry.
A personal development addict
Keji Mustapha is a sports and fitness enthusiast (tennis, squash and boxing), a foodie (baking and brunch) and an experience design maestro (from dinners to activity days). Above all, she is a self-confessed personal development junkie who loves to try, learn and master new skills (she is currently focusing on sailing and chess).
Keji Mustapha is included in the Financial Times’ 2019 list of 100 Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders in the UK.
