25 Places To Raise Funding For Your African Tech Startup

Written by Staff

Aug 05, 2016

African tech startups raised at least US$185.7 million in funding in 2015, and the signs are that 2016 is set to be another big year.

Startups are being backed by both overseas and domestic investors each day, and a plethora of new funds have been launched this year alone.

Not sure where to look for investment? We’ll make it easy for you with this list of 25 good places to start.

4Di Capital

South African venture capital (VC) firm 4Di Capital, which counts amongst its investors the likes of the Reinet Fund, E Oppenheimer & Sons, and Convergence Partners, recently announced a first close of ZAR256 million (US$16.8 million) in initial commitments for a new technology VC fund.

Village Capital

Already very active in Africa, Village Capital looks set to scale up its activities after announcing the close of a US$17.7 million fund by its investment arm VilCap Investments, with investors such as Jean and Steve Case, Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, Jim Sorenson, and Bob Pattillo backing the fund.

The Egyptian government

Good news for Egyptian startups too. The country’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) announced earlier this year it will launch a US$100 million venture capital (VC) fund, in a bid to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in the country’s ICT sector.

Social Innovation Fund

Nigerian incubator Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) partnered Venture Garden Group, Omidyar Network and the Bank of Industry to launch the NGN1 billion (US$5 million) Social Innovation Fund, which will back young entrepreneurs with solutions to local problems.

Silvertree Internet Holdings

Got an e-commerce startup? Well, Cape Town-based Silvertree Internet Holdings may have an interest in you. The company has plans to invest US$10 million in South African tech startups during 2016 on the back of its strongest year so far.

Capria

Back in June, Capria Accelerator announced the launch of a US$100 million fund that will invest in equity and debt funds targeting early-stage impact businesses across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

LIFT Challenge Fund

If you’re a logistics entrepreneur in East Africa, this one’s for you. The Logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT) Challenge Fund supports innovators and entrepreneurs in the logistics and transport sector, and provides grants of up to US$1 million to winning proposals.

Knife Capital

Another South African VC firm set to be busy is Knife Capital, which launched KNF Ventures, a ZAR100 million (US$6.4 million) fund dedicated to investing in innovative startups with proven traction.