- Seedstars Africa Ventures has received a $30 million capital commitment from EIB Global, a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank.
- This commitment follows an $8 million investment by the anchor investor, LBO France, a French private equity firm. The Seedstars Africa Ventures I fund plans to raise between $80 million and $100 million.
- The investment will help the firm support seed and Series A startups. It also includes a follow-on funding provision up to Series B, which will help Seedstars Africa address a significant capital gap and support startups outside of the accelerator programmes.
In 2020, Maxime Bouan, Tamim El Zein, and Bruce Nsereko Lule launched Seedstars Africa Ventures I fund in collaboration with LBO France and Seedstars, a global firm that invests in and supports entrepreneurs from emerging markets.
The Nairobi-based fund, which has invested over $7 million in 25 companies in sub-Saharan Africa, plans to invest $250,000 to $2 million in up to 30 startups, with the possibility of additional funding up to $5 million. In addition, the entrepreneurs get access to Seedstars' networks, resources, and visibility.
The firm stated that the larger-than-average fund (for Africa) would bridge funding gaps in regions other than the big four — Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa — offer operational and business support to founders, and provide "capital well suited to the needs of entrepreneurs" on the continent.
Seedstars Africa Ventures stated that, while the fund is not industry-specific, it is interested in companies that improve products, services, and efficiency and businesses that provide necessities such as utilities, healthcare, and education.
The fund also intends to invest up to 50% of its capital in Francophone Africa, a region that attracts emerging venture capital due to low competition, making it a popular investment destination.
Furthermore, although the fund offers risk capital to entrepreneurs across Africa to promote growth and employment, it concentrates on investing in businesses that use digital technologies to deliver essential services and improve business operations.
Meanwhile, this development is not the first for EIB Global in Africa. Atlantica Ventures, an early-stage pan-African impact-focused venture capital fund, received over $50 million from the VC in February 2022.
