Seedstars Africa Ventures Secures $42 Million to Scale Early-Stage African Startups

Seedstars Africa Ventures I, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in scalable African startups, has announced the successful first close of $42 million.

The fund attracted support from major institutional investors, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), EIB Global (supported by the European Union), the ACP Trust Fund – EU Compartment, and Boost Africa, along with other global investors.

The announcement was made during the 2024 Africa Investment Forum Market Days in Rabat, an event co-founded by the AfDB and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to advance transformative African projects toward financial closure.

Seedstars Africa Ventures I operates from Nairobi, Dakar, and Paris and is on track to achieve its $80 million fundraising target, having already secured an additional $50 million in commitments.

The fund aims to close critical early-stage financing gaps across Africa by investing up to $2 million in seed and Series A rounds, with follow-on funding capacity of up to $5 million. By leading multiple investment rounds, Seedstars Africa Ventures I catalyzes co-investments and provides operational support to startups, effectively connecting pools of capital to scale innovation on the continent.

To date, the fund has deployed over $10 million into five pioneering African startups across various sectors, including climate, food systems, energy access, internet connectivity, financial inclusion, and payment infrastructure. These startups collectively serve over 60 million people, including connecting 60,000 households to the Internet, supporting 50,000 farmers, and empowering 30,000 individuals with financial inclusion services across eight African countries.

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Ahmed Attout, Director for Financial Sector Development at the African Development Bank Group, highlighted the importance of the initiative, describing it as a strategic opportunity to provide innovative support to Africa’s venture capital industry. He noted that the fund would improve access to finance for youth and women while enhancing the availability of risk capital in Francophone Africa, a region historically underserved in this area.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that accelerating digitalization is a priority for the EIB and reaffirming their commitment to supporting African businesses driving innovation and prosperity on the continent.

Seedstars Africa Ventures has invested in transformative startups such as Beacon Power Services in Nigeria, which expands electricity access; Poa! Internet in Kenya, which offers affordable broadband internet to over 60,000 households; Xeno in Uganda, which provides sustainable financial products and savings solutions; Bizao, which operates across Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and France, developing high-performance payment aggregation platforms for corporates and fintechs; and Shamba Pride in Kenya, which runs nearly 300 franchised shops delivering products, insights, and training to farmers, addressing agricultural value chain challenges.

Seedstars Africa Ventures was co-founded by Maxime Bouan, Tamim El Zein, and Bruce Nsereko Lule, who collectively bring over 45 years of experience in investment and African markets. The fund is part of LBO France Group, which launched the initiative as a key element of its multi-asset-class strategy in Africa.