Egyptian VC firm Endure Capital has announced it has completed the first close of its new US$50 million fund to invest in early-stage startups across the African continent.
Launched in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Tarek Fahim, Endure Capital has established itself as one of the leading VC firms in the region. Its first fund was one of the early institutional investors in Careem, which was acquired by Uber for US$3.1 billion in 2019, and it has since invested in the likes of Egypt’s MaxAB and Breadfast, as well as various international startups.
Its new fund, Endure 21, is its second early-stage venture capital fund and will focus its investments primarily on impact-driven early-stage startups in Africa, with a selective approach to investing in growth-stage startups globally.
The limited partners who have invested in the fund include British International Investment (BII), the UK’s Development Finance Institution and impact investor, formerly known as CDC Group; the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) – Egypt’s Social Fund for Development; and founders of different leading startups of the region.
With Endure 21, the firm will follow a sector-agnostic approach and invest in 24 companies. Endure Capital will reserve half the fund for follow-on investments in its top-performing companies from its portfolio. It has already made several investments, in the likes of Brimore, Cassbana, and Pylon.
“Endure is committed to adding value to the region’s flourishing startup founders, and ecosystem, and we love to partner with founders that relentlessly pursue entrepreneurship as a means for value creation to society and who are building lasting businesses,” said Fahim.
“BII is excited to be partnering with Endure Capital, a well-embedded leading local fund manager in Egypt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. I am delighted that our partnership on Endure21 will help support the next generation of visionary entrepreneurs in Egypt, providing them with the capital to build transformative businesses that are creating innovative solutions and accelerating productive, sustainable and inclusive growth across society,” said Abhinav Sinha, managing director and head of technology and telecoms for BII.
