Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs, has announced the launch of affiliate Madica, a structured investment programme for pre-seed stage technology companies in Africa.
Flourish Ventures backs entrepreneurs whose innovations advance financial health and prosperity for individuals and small businesses, and has more than US$500 million under management.
Aiming to serve mission-driven and under-represented founders, its new sector-agnostic programme Madica will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and world-class company-building support. Over the next three years, Madica, seeks to back 25-30 African entrepreneurs with up to US$200,000 each, coupled with multi-year programmatic support.
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.
“Although investment is booming on the continent, funds are often disproportionately targeted at a few well-networked entrepreneurs and skewed towards the more prominent tech hubs,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica.
“Unlike other programmes, Madica is sector-agnostic and intends to double down on providing hands-on support, extensive resources, access to networks and more. This is why, in addition to US$6 million of investment capital, we have reserved an equal amount for programmatic support. We encourage founders across the continent to apply for our programme. We believe Africans have an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit, and one of Madica’s core goals is to ensure a level playing field for every African founder.”
To be eligible for the programme, mission-driven startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), have founders who are engaged full-time, and have received little or no institutional funding.
“Madica is an investment in the African venture ecosystem, with the audacious goal of creating a broader systemic shift. Through Madica, we intend to develop a cadre of mentors, create world-class programming, crowd-in follow-on capital and leverage Flourish’s global presence to extend the reach of local networks. These will eventually benefit other participants in the ecosystem – startups, investors, and policymakers,” said Ameya Upadhyay, venture partner at Flourish Ventures.
“We hope that Madica can help change the narrative around African startups – lower the perception of risk, attract more capital, inspire more founders, and garner more media attention.”
Madica operates an open application process, so founders can apply without an introduction. Applications are now open, and interested startups can find out more and apply here.
