Egypt-based venture capital firm Flat6Labs has announced a new Sh12.3 billion ($95 million) fund to invest in early-stage tech start-ups in Kenya and other African countries.
The Africa Seed Fund (ASF) which has been focused on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region said it will be extending its reach into several new territories, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Senegal.
It will invest with tickets ranging from Sh19.4 million to Sh64.8 million ($150,000-$500,000) and will also be providing funding to seasoned founders away from the programme.
This comes after early-stage investors increased their investment in East Africa last year, more than the traditional private equity deals.
“We are extremely excited about the launch of the Africa Seed Fund. Africa is one of the most exciting regions to invest in tech and innovation, with huge untapped potential and unique business opportunities,” Ramez El-Serafy, the General Partner for ASF said in a statement.
“We will leverage our experience and knowledge to guide the start-up founders to create truly scalable, investment-ready, Africa-based companies.”
The fund will invest in more than 160 early-stage new ventures over the next five years that operate in the technology sector in Africa, with a focus on accelerating digital inclusion through the use of information technology.
It will also target industries which contribute to addressing social and environmental challenges such as HealthTech, FinTech, EdTech, GreenTech, AgriTech and ClimateTech.
The investment will boost Africa’s tech sector which recorded a rise in net venture capital funding in 2022 despite the global economic crisis leading to a slowdown.
Partech 2022 Africa Venture Capital Report says funding for the African sector increased by eight percent to Sh842.3 billion ($6.5 billion) in 2022, up from Sh777.5 billion ($6 billion) in 2021 through 764 rounds.
