Three tech startups supported by African pre-seed investment programme Madica backs

Three African startups have benefited from the first round of investments made by Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage companies.

Madica is a sector-neutral investment program that was established in 2022 and is connected to the fintech-focused venture capital firm Flourish Ventures. Its goal is to fill in structural gaps in the African startup landscape.

The program addresses major obstacles that startups face in order to address pressing problems and promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation throughout the continent. These obstacles include restricted access to capital, a lack of investors, inadequate mentorship, and a lack of organized support.

As part of its extensive investment program, which includes 18 months of focused company-building support catered to each startup’s specific needs, Madica has now announced its first three investments, offering each startup up to US $200,000 in funding.

The three startups that received funding are: GoBEBA in Kenya, which provides a direct-to-customer e-commerce platform that simplifies the purchase and delivery of bulky essential utilities; Kola Market in Ghana, which helps SMEs increase sales, optimize inventory, and secure financing; and NewForm Foods in South Africa, which helps food producers and retailers quickly develop and scale cultivated meat products.

Madica provides support to startups in addition to funding them. These services include a highly customized curriculum, practical mentorship, invitations to fully-funded week-long founder immersion trips, executive coaching opportunities, and access to Maddica’s global network of investors for additional funding. All of these initiatives are intended to accelerate growth and guarantee the long-term sustainability of the startups.

“We’re excited to announce our first set of investments, which showcase the remarkable talent and innovation in the African tech ecosystem. Each one of these startups represents the untapped potential of African founders who lack the support they direly need because they are too often perceived as risky by global investors. This year, our goal is to support more of these founders and integrate them into the global startup ecosystem,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica.

“The glaring imbalance in venture funding in Africa is a big concern, and we want to support founders who are often overlooked by investors. We aim to be a catalyst and inspire other investors to join our goal of broadening the reach of venture capital and founder mentorship.”

Founders can apply without an introduction to Madica because it has an open application process. The program seeks to identify and assist entrepreneurs by working with local ecosystem participants such as angel networks, incubators, and accelerators.

Investments are made on a rolling basis throughout the year, and all applicants go through the same evaluation process. This year, the initiative plans to invest in a maximum of ten more startups.