Today, Madica, an African structured investment programme targeting pre-seed stage entrepreneurs, revealed its plans to invest in up to 10 ventures by the end of the year, ramping up its funding efforts after closing three initial deals.
Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica, who confirmed the investment plans noted that each startup will receive funding, up to $200,000, and also get 18 months of targeted company-building support tailored to its specific needs.
Madica is a sector-neutral investment programme that focuses on fixing structural shortcomings in Africa’s startup ecosystem. It is associated with Flourish Ventures, a global Fintech venture capital firm.
According to the release, the program’s first investees include Marie-Reine Seshie launched Kola Market, a B2B platform that assists SMEs in increasing sales and streamlining operations.
Others are Lesley Mbogo and Peter Ndiang’ui who launched GoBEBA, an on-demand household goods shop in Kenya, and Brett Thompson and Tasneem Karodia who cofounded Newform Foods, formerly known as Mzansi Meat, a farmed meat firm in South Africa.
“Each one of these startups represents the untapped potential of African founders who lack the support they direly need because they are too often perceived as risky by global investors. This year, our goal is to support more of these founders and integrate them into the global startup ecosystem.
“The glaring imbalance in venture funding in Africa is a big concern, and we want to support founders who are often overlooked by investors.
“We aim to be a catalyst and inspire other investors to join our goal of broadening the reach of venture capital and founder mentorship,” Adegboye explained.
Newsng understands that more are expected to join as Madica looks at possible agreements in developing nations like Ethiopia, Rwanda, Morocco, Uganda, DRC, and Tunisia.
This aligns with its strategy to target businesses operating in a variety of industries and sectors, including those led by underrepresented and underfunded founders.
We earlier reported that TLcom Capital, an African venture capital firm that specialises in early-stage entrepreneurs has raised $54 million for its second fund, TIDE Africa Fund II.
