Samuel Brooksworth, co-founder of Ghanaian HR technology startup Remoteli, has launched PATH54, an athlete-led venture capital firm connecting African and African heritage athletes with founders building high growth businesses across the continent.

The new firm aims to provide patient capital, strategic networks and long term support to startups while creating a structured pathway for athletes to invest in Africa’s innovation ecosystem. PATH54 plans to back founders across all 54 African countries through direct investment and ecosystem partnerships.

The launch marks Brooksworth’s latest effort to bridge two worlds he has worked closely with over the past few years, entrepreneurship and professional sport.

Addressing a gap in Africa’s startup ecosystem

Announcing the launch, Brooksworth said the idea for PATH54 emerged from his own experience as a founder navigating Africa’s fundraising landscape.

“As founders building across Africa, we have experienced first hand how difficult it can be to access the right funding, networks and opportunities,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

He added that while many African entrepreneurs are building businesses capable of solving major challenges and competing globally, they are often overlooked by investors.

At the same time, Brooksworth said he had built relationships with athletes across different sports, many of whom are of African heritage and wanted to contribute to the continent’s economic development but lacked a clear pathway to do so.

“We asked ourselves, why not bring these two worlds together?”

That question became the foundation for PATH54.

According to Brooksworth, the firm will combine its experience working with founders, relationships across the sports industry and knowledge of Africa’s startup ecosystem to provide more than financial backing. Portfolio companies will also gain access to strategic introductions, mentorship and long term support designed to help them scale.

The firm’s name reflects its continental ambition. PATH54 represents a vision of creating pathways to opportunity, ownership and investment across all 54 African countries. Brooksworth believes African athletes, together with members of the global African diaspora, have an important role to play in supporting entrepreneurs building globally significant businesses from the continent.

Building on athlete partnerships through Remoteli

PATH54 builds on Brooksworth’s earlier work at Remoteli, where he demonstrated how relationships with athletes extend beyond traditional sponsorships and endorsements.

In 2024, Remoteli raised US$315,000 from Dutch international and Bayer Leverkusen footballer Jeremie Frimpong. The investment marked one of the few publicly announced investments by a European footballer into a Ghanaian technology startup.

The partnership went beyond funding. Remoteli also collaborated with Frimpong’s JoinPathways initiative, a programme established to support young footballers preparing for careers beyond professional sport.

Recognising that many aspiring footballers struggle to transition into the workforce when their playing careers do not materialise, JoinPathways sought to create new opportunities through education and skills development. As part of the collaboration, Remoteli committed to training and upskilling participants with digital and remote work skills, helping them access careers in technology and other knowledge based industries.

The initiative reflected a shared belief that the discipline, resilience and leadership developed through sport are valuable assets in the workplace.

That experience appears to have shaped Brooksworth’s thinking around PATH54. Rather than limiting athlete involvement to philanthropy or one off investments, the new venture capital firm seeks to position athletes as long term investors and ecosystem builders.

A new source of capital for African founders

Access to early stage capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing African startups. While venture funding on the continent has expanded over the past decade, founders continue to face limited access to patient capital, strategic investors and international networks.

Brooksworth believes athletes represent an underutilised source of both capital and influence.

Through PATH54, the firm hopes to channel investment from African and African heritage athletes into startups addressing local and global challenges. Beyond financial backing, founders will gain access to a network of influential individuals whose experience, visibility and connections extend across international markets.

The firm also intends to work with ecosystem partners across the continent to identify high potential founders and strengthen support for emerging businesses.

As interest in athlete investing continues to grow globally, PATH54 enters the market with a model tailored specifically to Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape.

“The next wave of globally significant African businesses is already being built,” Brooksworth said.

“Our role is to help ensure the right founders are seen, supported and given the opportunity to succeed.”

For Brooksworth, PATH54 represents more than the launch of another venture capital firm. It is an effort to create a lasting bridge between Africa’s entrepreneurial talent and a global community of athletes seeking meaningful ways to invest in the continent’s future.