African investors provide $350K to Ghanaian startups Rivia and VDL Fulfillment Facility for Ecosystem Catalysts

Rivia and VDL Fulfillment, two Ghanaian startups, have raised a total of US $350,000 from the Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, a US $4 million pilot investment program designed to find founders who are frequently passed over by conventional investors.

The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, run by Village Capital and funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), seeks to give early-stage capital to startups in Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria that are promoting economic mobility and climate resilience.

Through partnerships with in-market entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) that assist in identifying strong founder teams, shaping investment pipelines, and providing due diligence advice, the facility operates a locally led investment model. Reach for Change and Innovation Spark collaborated with Village Capital in Ghana to mold the investment pipeline and make sure funds are in line with local conditions.

The first two investments made through the facility are VDL Fulfilment, an e-commerce logistics platform designed for African SMEs, and Rivia Clinics, a tech-enabled primary healthcare startup based in Accra. While VDL secured a US$150,000 investment to allow the company to fortify its warehouse and fulfillment infrastructure, grow its fleet, and create distributed hubs closer to demand, Rivia received US$200,000 to support its expansion.

“Access to this type of capital allows us to build at the speed our operations can actually support, not at the speed capital usually demands. In a logistics environment like ours, premature scale creates inefficiencies that compound quickly,” said Vanessa Omari, CEO at VDL Fulfilment.

“Rivia and VDL are strong examples of the businesses emerging across Ghana – founders building practical solutions to real, everyday challenges, from accessing quality healthcare to moving goods more efficiently. What stands out is the impact both companies are already having, driven by their deep understanding of the problems their customers face and the environments they operate in,” said Heather Matranga, managing director of venture and investments at Village Capital.

These investments are the first of many planned deployments in Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana.