About Double Feather Partners

Double Feather Partners (DFP) is an international venture capital firm based out of Japan, with networks spanning across Asia, Africa, and North America.  

 Founded in 2019, DFP started as a financial advisory firm advising small, medium, and large organisations in public and private sectors in Japan, the Middle East, and Africa.  

The company quickly expanded its services to include market research and emerging market penetration and expansion strategies, with a particular focus on Africa and start-ups.  

Its growing engagement with African markets and start-up ecosystems led to identifying critical gaps, which DFP seeks to help address via special projects (such as acceleration programs and accelerator support programs) and its investment services (direct investment and investment funds).  

Mission

DFP’s mission is to help solve complex socioeconomic issues in emerging markets by providing risk capital and management consulting services to impactful projects and ventures. 

Vision

  • Maximize economic impact while solving fundamental issues via social impact. 
  • Be a trustworthy change-maker in emerging markets. 
  • Connect resources and stakeholders globally to collectively address fundamental issues in Africa with maximum socioeconomic impact.   
  • Keep Africa on the agenda of our network to keep directing interest and capital towards transformative projects and ventures. 
  • Maintain a professionally and individually diverse team to foster more perspectives and interconnectedness in problem-solving and innovation.  

Experience

Regional coverage

Africa : Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Africa
Middle East : Israel, Palestine, UAE
Asia Pacific : Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangladesh, Australia, Tuvalu
Europe and the United States : USA, France, Germany, UK

Industrial coverage

Infrastructure (including renewable energy, mobility, urban development), mining, manufacturing, TMT (telecom/ technology), ICT, high-tech, finance (including megabank, local bank, micro finance, insurance, and fintech), food and beverage, healthcare and public health, education, and agriculture

Sector coverage

Private and public enterprises, government agencies (including local government agencies), international development agencies, development banks, NGO/NPOs

SERVICES

Not only do our services help interconnect Japan and third countries to emerging markets, but they also specialize as we help address market and ecosystem gaps.

Financial advisory

Fund raising guidance
Getting “Investor Ready”
Financial Strategy

International Expansion advisory (Japan, Africa)

Management consulting advice
Market entry and expansion strategy
International investor relations (language barriers, negotiation, etc.)

M&A

Financial strategy
Local and international company match-making support
Sourcing of local companies for investment and/or acquisition
Due diligence Negotiation strategy and support

Market Research

On-demand micro and macro insights
On-demand Industry-specific insights

Special Project Management

Project structuring
Project implementation
Project management support

VC as a Service

Fund structuring and establishment
Investment advice
Venture assessment
LP investor care

PORTFOLIO

SafeBoda-Logo

The most reliable community-based urban transportation network in Africa.

Hello Tractor Logo

Digital platform that connects tractor owners and farmers through a farm equipment sharing application. 

Satellite-based communication services, developing satellite- Inter-satellite optical communication data relay network.

asaak-300x146

An asset-financing creating a proprietary end-to-end origination system enabling access to financial service

Empowering African Scientists and enabling higher scientific research in less time &lower cost

TEAM

Kohei Muto
CEO

Kohei has experience in advising global and local firms on capital raising, acquisition, and investment. He has successfully executed more than 35 deals worth more than 30 billion USD in 5 regions (Asia, US, Europe, Middle East, and Africa) across sectors.
He started his career at Morgan Stanley and later joined Shurook, a private equity investment subdivision of the Office of the Quartet, led by Tony Blaire, covering investments in banking and clean-tech sectors in the Middle East. He graduated from a boarding school in Pennsylvania, US, and graduated from Tsukuba University in Japan. He enjoys traveling and flying planes.

Gayama Yannick
Managing Director

Former director at a global PR agency, Yannick advised multinationals in Stakeholder Engagement in various fields (life sciences, technology, etc.) and currently supports African embassies in investment promotion and and is co-founder the African Commerce Community in Japan (AfCCJ) project. Son of an Ambassador of the Republic of Congo, he was born in the U.S., raised in Ethiopia, Congo and Canada, holds a B.Sc. in Communications, a grad. degree in Game Design (University of Montreal), and a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (University of British Columbia).

Nobuko Steinmann
MANAGER

Nobuko holds a Ph. D. in Islamic Studies (University of Tokyo) and offered expert lectures, Arabic language training to the Japanese government and large corporations for over 14 years, while participating in Ministry of Foreign Affairs projects such as “Monitoring the Middle East through SNS” and “Research on The Roles of Major Tribes in North Africa”. She also worked many years as an Arabic media interpreter for major Japanese broadcasters and translated Arabic publications.

 


Albert Mbithi
ASSOCIATE

He has 10 years of experience as a financial expert in East Africa’s largest banks KCB Bank and Equity Bank. At Equity Bank, he made achievement in the field of Agency Banking by pioneering financial inclusion through use of mobile and POS terminals. He also has experience working at the Kenya National Highways Authority Corporation. He has Bachelors of Commerce in Marketing and Management from the University of Mount Kenya and a Diploma in Business Administration from the British Association of Business Executives. Based in Kenya

Kamil Orbisso Mohamed
Project Manager

Kamil obtained a degree in Global Studies and International Relations from Addis Ababa New Generation University in Ethiopia. He has been working in Djibouti and Japan expert in the fields of international logistics, maritime affairs, and supply chain of multinational corporations. He came to Japan as a Fellow of Awaji Youth Federation and served as an International Relations and Project Officer at Pasona Co., Ltd.

 

Adaeze Gbufor
Analyst

Adaeze holds a master’s degree in project management, a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, and a diploma in Pharmacy from the International University of Malaya-Wales based in Malaysia. She won the Young Researcher Award in 2019 from FSTEM, with other awards of excellence. She has experience and expertise in project development and promotion of sustainable novel technologies. Her exceptional skills in research analysis, project management and laboratory techniques enabled her participate in a database analysis and software product testing for healthcare App development for Silicon Valley. She also passionately runs a foundation that caters for less-privileged children in Africa.


Koshiro Ashizawa
Analyst

Koshiro holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of California Santa Barbara. He managed projects for Nuovo Fiore Ethiopia, a charity foundation that promotes and supports basic education in the African continent. He graduated from an American boarding school in Switzerland.  Based in Tokyo, Japan.

Takayuki Matsuo
Legal Advisor

Takayuki is a Partner at MM&N (Momo-o, Matsuo &Namba). He has expertise in emerging markets’ legal framework, and has experiences in information/ intelligence related laws (including AI). He is the author of several books and university textbooks, including “AI/HR Technology Related – Legal Practice on Personal Management & Labor Related Information Management”.
He graduated from Tokyo University Faculty of Law, Harvard University Law School, and Pekin University Law School.

 


 


ALUMNI

Abidame Umekum
Analyst

Abidambe is a pending graduate in International Business Studies at Soka University, holding a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Business from the University of Buea. He has in-depth knowledge of the African business environment and was selected for the African Development Bank’s Agricultural Value Chain Development Program in 2018. He also managed over 100 Ha of Agricultural production for two companies in Cameroon.

Liban Abdilatif Ahmed
Analyst

Liban received his BSc in Computer Science from Somali International University and MSc in Information Security from Universiti Putra Malaysia. He is CCNA Cisco certified and has experience in Networking and app development.

Christian Geraud
Analyst

Christian holds a bachelor’s degree from Renmin University in China and a master’s degree in International Development from the International University of Japan, Geraud Neema has a diversified professional background that has taken him to several industries. He has been a business and commercial representative in China for Congolese companies; a project manager for Intermines Ltd for which he negotiated and managed the creation of a mining joint venture for gold, cassiterite, and coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and a consultant on good governance issues and policy advocacy for a Jesuit research center in Kinshasa.

Adel Guerram
Analyst

Adel holds an MBA from Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan. Interested in finance, he is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Algiers 3 and specialized in alternative finance. After 5 years of experience in HR at an Algerian-Lebanese company specializing in metal construction, he joined the Algerian Ministry of Commerce, where he is in charge of controlling public procurements.

Siphosethu Makananda
Analyst

Siphosethu has seven years of professional experience in the South African energy sector, specializing in project development research, customer relations, training, and facilitation. She studied for an MBA at NUCB Graduate School of Management, in Japan. She won the 2021 International Negotiation Challenge alongside a team. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science, from the University of Cape Town and Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from Henley Business School in South Africa.

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Careers

Double Feather Partners is constantly seeking to add depth and perspective to its team and services.

Our basic requirements are as follows:
1. Not afraid of getting your hands dirty
2. Putting words into action
3. Solutions-oriented (not just identifying problems)
4. Integrity (Reliable and trustworthiness, both personally and professionally)
5. Passion for Africa or Emerging Markets
6. Team Player (check your ego at the door)
Got all 6? Drop us an email! info@doublefeather.com

CONTACT

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    What services are you interested in?

    Inquiry content

    Double Feather Partners is always looking for new ventures, projects, and business partners.

    Send us a message if you are:

    • An African startup (and please include your pitch deck!)
    • A Japanese investor seeking to invest in Africa
    • A Japanese company seeking to expand to the African market
    • An investor seeking to attract or co-invest with Japanese partners
    • A project leader seeking to design and implement a high-impact project in Africa

    We can help!



    MAIN BUSINESS OFFICE: 9F IINO Building, 2-1-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,〒100-0011, Japan (HQ in Shibuya, Tokyo)
    +81-50-3580-8543
    info@doublefeather.com