A US $42 million first close has been reached by Seedstars Africa Ventures I, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage, scalable businesses in Africa.
Africa Ventures Seedstars In collaboration with Seedstars, a global organization that invests in and supports entrepreneurs from emerging markets, and LBO France, a multi-country, multi-specialist investment platform, Maxime Bouan, Tamim El Zein, and Bruce Nsereko Lule founded I.
It has now confirmed that an additional US $12 million was raised as part of a first close that also includes the African Development Bank, in addition to the US $30 million equity investment from EIB Global that was announced earlier this year.
Seedstars Africa Ventures In order to bridge available capital pools, filling early-stage financing gaps throughout Africa by investing up to US $2 million in seed and Series A rounds, with substantial follow-on capacity up to US $5 million. The fund will provide startups with operational support and encourage co-investment by spearheading multiple investment rounds.
Five innovative African startups in the fields of climate, food systems, energy access, internet connectivity, financial inclusion, and payments infrastructure—Beacon Power Services (Nigeria), Poa! Internet (Kenya), Xeno (Uganda), Bizao (Ivory Coast), and Shamba Pride (Kenya)—have already received over US $10 million from the fund.
