Carta Expands Into Africa After Hiring Raise’s Marvin Coleby
Carta, a global startup that offers software for managing equity ownership, valuations, and fund administration, is entering the African private capital market by developing localized products tailored to the continent.
The expansion focuses on smaller startups and leverages Carta’s full product suite. This move follows the appointment of Marvin Coleby, the former CEO of Raise, who now leads Carta’s product efforts across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Coleby joined Carta after shutting down Raise, his Nairobi-based startup that supported African startups in raising over $1 billion through its equity management and fundraising software. He is the only former Raise employee at Carta.
“We know how much goes into building software for an underserved market. He’s established many partnerships and relationships across Africa over that time that we think would accelerate our ability to support the market further,” said Bhavik Vashi, Carta’s managing director for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
“What Marvin brings to the team from a product and an engineering perspective is hugely valuable when we think about how we want to localise our product to be fit for purpose.”
Unlike simply adopting its U.S. business model, Carta is committed to adapting its platform based on regional insights and requirements of the African market.
Summary
Carta’s strategic hire of Marvin Coleby aims to boost its tailored software solutions for Africa’s private capital market, emphasizing regional adaptation and support for smaller startups.