It’s not hard to miss the frustration and mounting worry among those in South Sudan who invested in Silicone Valley Shares, which claims to be a US-headquartered venture capital firm with more than US$6.4 billion in assets under management.
“My experience is so bad, I wish I didn’t take the initiative of investing my hard earned money there, the company’s problems keep on increasing every day. I am not sure if they will ever operate again,” Caesar Lemmy told 211 Check.
He has lost $1,542, a fortune in South Sudan, the young country charting its post-conflict path.
The company appeared in the country in December 2021, promising outsized returns. It registered with the justice ministry as Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited, according to public records seen by 211 Check and also shared on social media.
But the company quickly ran into trouble. Its website was suspended in early September 2022, before being restored. Its offices were subsequently closed by security services while investors reportedly stormed its office in the South Sudan capital Juba because they couldn’t withdraw their funds.
Lemmy said he tried to withdraw his money unsuccessfully. “I tried after they restored the website, but the money was never deposited into my account, and most people are also complaining about the same,” he said.
Ezekiel Matiop told 211 Check he lost $3,400. He had already written it off, he said, even as he called for…
