Pre-seed investment platform Affiliate Madica launched by Flourish Ventures

The introduction of affiliate Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage technology startups in Africa, has been announced by Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs building mission-driven FinTech businesses.

With more than $500 million under management, Flourish Ventures supports entrepreneurs whose inventions improve the well-being and profitability of individuals and small enterprises.

Its new industry-neutral initiative Madica will fund tech businesses, invest in founders of mission-driven and under-represented startups, and provide world-class company-building assistance. Madica wants to provide up to US $200,000 in funding each to 25 to 30 African business owners over the next three years in addition to providing multi-year programming assistance.

A carefully selected panel of seasoned African businesspeople who will serve as mentors to the Madica founders will be a key component of the program. Madica will provide this mentor community benefits based on business performance in the notion that excellent mentoring is a key component of the most thriving startup ecosystems. Madica plans to distribute a portion of its financial gains to the larger ecosystem in order to foster this sense of community even further.

“Although investment is booming on the continent, funds are often disproportionately targeted at a few well-networked entrepreneurs and skewed towards the more prominent tech hubs,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica.

“Unlike other programmes, Madica is sector-agnostic and intends to double down on providing hands-on support, extensive resources, access to networks, and more. This is why, in addition to US$6 million of investment capital, we have reserved an equal amount for programmatic support. We encourage founders across the continent to apply for our programme. We believe Africans have an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit, and one of Madica’s core goals is to ensure a level playing field for every African founder.”

Mission-driven firms must have a minimum viable product (MVP), full-time founders, and little to no institutional investment in order to be eligible for the program.

“Madica is an investment in the African venture ecosystem, with the audacious goal of creating a broader systemic shift. Through Madica, we intend to develop a cadre of mentors, create world-class programming, crowd in follow-on capital and leverage Flourish’s global presence to extend the reach of local networks. These will eventually benefit other participants in the ecosystem – startups, investors, and policymakers,” said Ameya Upadhyay, venture partner at Flourish Ventures.

“We hope that Madica can help change the narrative around African startups – lower the perception of risk, attract more capital, inspire more founders, and garner more media attention.”

The application procedure at Madica is open, so entrepreneurs may participate without having to introduce themselves.