Flourish Ventures To Assist 30 African Entrepreneurs With $200,000 

 

Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs, on Monday, launched Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage technology companies in Africa, targeting up to 30 African Entrepreneurs with $200,000 each, coupled with multi-year programmatic support, over the next three years.

Aiming to serve mission-driven and under-represented founders, the new sector-agnostic programme will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and world-class company-building support, that will help to address systemic challenges faced by early-stage founders in Africa, such as, limited access to capital, industry networks, mentorship, and structured training.

A central element of the programme will be a carefully curated panel of seasoned African operators who will mentor Madica founders. Based on the belief that strong mentorship is a central feature of the most vibrant startup ecosystems, Madica will provide this mentor community with rewards tied to company success. To further cultivate this sense of community, Madica intends to share a part of its financial returns with the broader ecosystem.

In pioneering some of these unique features in an investment program, Madica hopes to promote a vibrant and more equitable funding environment on the continent.

Head of Madica, Emmanuel Adegboye, in a press statement, made available to NATIONAL ECONOMY, said though investment is booming on the Africa continent, funds are often disproportionately targeted at a few well-networked entrepreneurs and skewed towards the more prominent tech hubs.

To be eligible for the programme, mission-driven start-ups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), have founder(s) who are engaged full time and have received little or no institutional funding.

Venture partner at Flourish Ventures, Ameya Upadhyay, added that Madica is an investment in the African venture ecosystem, with the audacious goal of creating a broader systemic shift.

Madica operates an open application process so founders can apply without an introduction. The programme will work with partners such as incubators, accelerators, and angels to identify and support entrepreneurs. All applicants will undergo the same evaluation procedure, and investments will be made on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Applications are now open, and interested start-ups can find out more and apply by visiting Madica’s website.