FUNDING | LoftyInc Capital Closes $43 Million to Invest in Late-Seed Stage Startups Across Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and Francophone Africa

Pan-African venture capital firm, LoftyInc Capital, has announced the first close of $43 million for its new LoftyInc Alpha Fund.

According to the VC, the fund is a late-seed focused investment vehicle that will drive growth for Africa’s most promising tech startups across key geographies, including:

• Nigeria
• Egypt
• Kenya, and
• Francophone Africa

The fund is coming at a time of a renewed call for home-grown solutions to the capital shortages facing African entrepreneurs as total funding raised declined by 29% in 2024.

Foreign investments also continue to pull out, most recently the MasterCard Foundation, which cut funding to African startups, not to mention funding cuts across the continent by USAID.

LoftyInc, operating in Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya, is one of the pioneering and most successful investors in Africa’s venture capital ecosystem with a portfolio of over 100 startups across the continent. It has backed notable startups including:

• Flutterwave
• Andela
• Wave Mobile Money
• Reliance Health
• Thndr
• Omni Retail

According to the VC, the Alpha Fund builds upon insights from earlier funds, emphasizing seed investments that empower entrepreneurs to create resilient businesses with scalable growth. It will focus on key sectors, including:

• Financial services
• Retail enablement
• Logistics
• Healthcare
• Climate tech, and
• Artificial intelligence

highlighting the diverse opportunities available across Africa.

The fund attracted a diverse and strategic investor base, including commitments from Middle Eastern and African sovereign wealth funds such as:

• Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), and
• Tunisia’s Anava Fund of Funds,

and others.

Development Financial Institutions (DFI) investors include:

• FMO (the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank)
• The Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF)
• Proparco with FISEA, and
• AfricaGrow, a Fund of Funds managed by Allianz Global Investors and advised by DEG Impact GmbH, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The Fund is supported by returning limited partners, including:

• First Close Partners, a U.S.-based family office that backs high-performing venture funds led by underrepresented managers worldwide. Additionally,
• Several African high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and
• European family offices

have joined, reflecting a strong synergy between regional and global investors committed to advancing Africa’s tech ecosystem.

“Our previous funds were backed primarily by African professionals and experienced entrepreneurs who not only provided capital but also leveraged their networks and industry expertise to help startups thrive—establishing the foundation for institutionalizing our investment approach,” said Managing Partner, Idris Ayodeji Bello.

“In an exceptionally challenging fundraising climate, we are thrilled to have surpassed our first-close target, attracting new institutional investors while reaffirming the commitment of our existing backers.

This latest raise positions us to scale our vision: empowering Afropreneurs who build transformative, tech-driven solutions for Africa’s everyday economy.”

Follow us on X for latest posts and updates

Join and interact with our Telegram community

____________________________________________

____________________________________________