Harlem Capital raises $134 million for its second fund
Harlem Capital has raised $134 million for its second fund.
Harlem Capital Partners Venture Fund II was oversubscribed from its target of $100 million and above its initial cap of $125m. Limited partners (LPs) include 14 world-class institutions, four global corporations, and six family offices.
Harlem Capital Partners Venture Fund II was oversubscribed from its target of $100m.
The firm was founded in 2015 by managing partners Henri Pierre-Jacques and Jarrid Tingle.
It started as an angel syndicate with the goal of investing in founders from diverse backgrounds, then announced its first venture capital (VC) fund of $40 million at the end of 2019.
It hasn’t invested all of that initial $40 million as the firm says it’s aiming to make five more investments from Fund I.
The firm claims that 61% of Harlem Capital’s Fund I portfolio companies are led by Black or Latinx executives, while 43% are led exclusively by women.
Fund II seeks to back 45 companies making initial investments of $750,000 to $1.5 million in US seed rounds for 10%+ ownership.
The fund maintains Harlem Capital’s commitment to minority and women founders but is shifting focus to early seed stage investments in companies that are post-product.
The new fund will remain industry agnostic, but there will be a deeper focus on enterprise and consumer technology.
The firm’s investments include e-commerce companies Pangaea, CashDrop, Malomo and Repeat, as well as wellness start-ups, Wellory, Expectful, Wagmo and Shine.
The focus on diversity extends to the limited partners who invested in Fund II, with 42% of LPs being women or people of colour.
“We are focused on building an institution and platform to support diverse founders for many generations,” says managing partner Henri Pierre-Jacques in a statement.
“Fund II is one step closer to our mission, but we know the work and journey continues. We are excited to provide more capital and resources to even more diverse founders tackling unique problems.”
Last week, Harlem Capital also announced that it had promoted Brandon Bryant to partner and Gabby Cazeau and Kelly Goldstein to principal.
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