The Botswana Tech Fund (BTF), which aims to invest US$64 million in technology firms that support digital growth throughout Southern Africa, has reached a US$6.7 million first close.
The BTF was established in April with the goal of supporting founders from the pre-seed to the growth stage. It seeks to support scalable technology-enabled firms within the larger Southern African Development Community (SADC) by utilizing Botswana’s comparatively stable macroeconomic environment, robust regulatory framework, and high internet penetration.
It is being formed as a strategic alliance between family office investors and venture capital firms. Pula Investments is the anchor investor, while Launch Africa Ventures will serve as the phase one investment adviser.
Although the long-term goal is the full US$64 million commitment target, which would establish BTF as a major source of early- and growth-stage finance for the region, a first close of US$6.7 million has now been attained.
“Now the work begins. There is a significant opportunity to help close the digital gap between our target markets and more established technology ecosystems such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya,” the fund said.
“We look forward to backing ambitious founders who are building solutions capable of driving that change.”
