Seedstars Africa Ventures

What is Seedstars Africa Ventures?

Seedstars Africa Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund specializing in investments across Sub-Saharan Africa. They focus on supporting and investing in high-growth companies that are creating innovative online and offline business models addressing critical product and service needs in the region.

These companies, which typically operate in large and rapidly expanding markets, often face a significant shortage of capital and structural support. Seedstars Africa Ventures leverages Seedstars' long-standing presence in the African entrepreneurial ecosystem, which started in 2012, to provide what they describe as 'smart capital' to entrepreneurs, facilitating access to a wide-ranging pan-African and international network.

The fund is part of and anchored by LBO France and operates under the regulation of the AMF. Significant investments from EIB Global with EU support under the ACP trust fund - UE compartment has augmented their financial capacity.

Seedstars Africa Ventures differentiates itself with a blended, entrepreneur-focused approach, supported by major corporate and institutional investors, which fosters robust partnership opportunities and exit strategies for the companies in their portfolio.

The fund has made over $10 million in investments. They do not require funded entrepreneurs to have participated in Seedstars' acceleration programs.

They look for talented and ambitious teams, highly demanded products and services, scalable innovations, and post-revenue companies showing considerable growth. The initial investment range is from $250k to $2 million, with a willingness to reinvest in portfolio companies.

They offer flexible terms and local support across 25+ countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping companies in expansion, recruitment, and finding expertise. Their global reach, strategic partnerships with corporate and institutional partners, and a strong community of 250,000 provide portfolio companies with extensive support and network access.

Additionally, Seedstars Africa Ventures adheres to an ESG and Climate Policy, aligning with Article 8 of the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), emphasizing the importance of achieving both financial and extra-financial returns for sustainable development objectives.

What they say:

We invest in early-stage entrepreneurs active in Sub-Saharan Africa.