$58 M Seed funding for overlooked African tech markets launched by Digital Africa

In an effort to institutionalize early-stage capital in markets outside of the continent’s traditional tech hubs, the French government-backed Digital Africa has launched a EUR50 million (US $57 million) seed fund that targets 20 underserved countries.

With the support of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Proparco, the private sector division of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Digital Africa has provided pre-seed funding to more than 70 startups across 16 African nations.

In an effort to create a “financing continuum” from pre-seed to seed, it has now established the Digital Africa Seed Fund (DASF), with Proparco picking up at Series A and beyond. With ticket prices up to EUR2 million (US $2.3 million), the pan-African DASF targets 20 underprivileged nations.

The fund’s declared preference for markets outside of Africa’s “big four”—Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt—addresses the continent’s growing seed disparity. Artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, e-health, climate-tech, space, and digital infrastructure are its six top priorities.