Access to finance and lack of support systems are some of the challenges faced by startup founders in Sub-Saharan Africa. And while venture capital and founder support programs are growing across the continent, much remains to be done to meet the financial, technological and social capital needs of particularly marginalized groups such as female founders.
It’s these gaps that continue to inspire new programs like Madica, a US-based venture capital firm that hopes to ease the burden of building startups.
Launched today, Madika is a pan-African investment program that aims to provide funding, technology support and mentorship to underrepresented founders across the continent. The sector-agnostic program targets technology startups at the pre-seed stage, where most ideas fail.
The program allocates $6 million to up to 30 African start-ups and receives up to $200,000 in equity payments to each of them to secure the necessary financial support. The first investment phase lasts for three years.
Although investment is booming across the continent, funds are often disproportionately targeted at a small number of well-connected entrepreneurs and diverted to prominent tech hubs. Access to networks and more. That is why, in addition to the investment capital of $6 million, we have set aside an equal amount for program support,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Manika.
“We encourage founders across the continent to apply for our program. We believe Africans have an unparalleled entrepreneurial spirit, and Madika’s main goal is to ensure a level playing field for every African entrepreneur,” he said.
Madika said she is interested in reaching unserved markets on the continent outside of the hubs of Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. This is part of his efforts to ensure pan-African access by supporting local and women founders.
To qualify for the program, founders must work on their idea full-time, have at least a viable product, and receive little or no institutional funding. Application and admission to the program will be in progress.
Madika is also working with Afrilabs, Parity, Africa Early Stage Investors Summit, CELO Foundation and Rising Tide to identify entrepreneurs to support.
Participating founders will be matched with mentors including Isis Nyong’o, Asphalt & Ink partner; Idris Saliu, Co-Founder of Siviant Finance, and Wendy Hoffman, Legal Counsel at Delta Capital.
“MADICA is an investment in the African venture ecosystem, with the bold goal of creating broad systemic change. Through MADICA, we intend to leverage Flourish’s global presence to develop a cadre of advisors, create world-class programming, create crowd-sourced capital and extend the reach of local networks.” These will ultimately benefit other participants in the ecosystem – start-ups, investors and policy makers,” says Ameya Upadhyay, venture partner at Flourish Ventures, whose early-stage fintech VC portfolio includes Nigeria’s Flutterwave and Paga.
“We hope Madika will help change the narrative around African startups – reduce the perception of risk, attract more capital, inspire more founders and get more media attention,” Upadhyay said.
