Village Capital provides support to five African ESOs through its $4 M Ecosystem Catalysts Facility

Village Capital’s Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility (AECF), a US $4 million program aimed at investing in startups creating context-specific solutions that improve economic mobility and climate resilience in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, has announced five Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) as venture partners.

The AECF, which is managed by Village Capital in partnership with the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), seeks to close funding gaps by making well-structured capital investments and coordinating the investment process with the knowledge of ESOs, who are the experts in their respective markets.

By working with locally-led ESOs, the AECF adopts an ecosystem-embedded approach to investment, facilitating a more efficient allocation of funds, grounded in profound local knowledge, to startups creating solutions that raise livelihoods, promote financial inclusion, and strengthen climate change resilience.

The AECF aims to boost the larger entrepreneurial ecosystems in each nation and quicken the flow of suitable, early-stage capital to the areas that need it most by funding high-impact startups and giving ESOs the authority to act as co-evaluators during the investment process.

Reach for Change (Ghana), Africa Fintech Foundry and Fate Foundation (Nigeria), and Anza Entrepreneurs and Ennovate Ventures (Tanzania) are the five ESOs that have been announced as venture partners for the US $4 million initiative.

“No single investor can be an expert in every context – and that’s why this partnership matters,” said Nathaly Botero, innovations manager at Village Capital. “This model allows us to invest across markets while staying grounded in local realities. For us, this isn’t just about sourcing deals, it’s about making smarter, more informed investments by working alongside those already building and strengthening their entrepreneurial communities.”