Launched in Silicon Valley in 2010, and investing in Africa since 2012, 500 Global is perhaps best known for its renowned accelerator programme. Yet it is quietly scaling up its investments on the continent, with those operations led by Africa lead Mareme Dieng.
Since it was founded, 500 Global has evolved from a startup accelerator to a multi-stage venture capital firm. It started making investments in Latin America and East Asia in 2011, the Middle East and Africa in 2012, and Southeast Asia in 2014.
500 Global now has investments in more than 2,700 companies in 81 countries and US$2.7 billion in assets under management. Its diversified portfolio includes 49 companies valued at over US$1 billion, such as Chipper Cash, Talkdesk, Canva, and GitLab. In Africa, 500 has investments in 119 companies.
The African operations are led by Dieng, born and raised in Senegal, but who started her professional career in Johannesburg at the African Leadership Academy before moving to the United States (US).
“I saw challenges faced by Senegal such as the lack of access to quality education and healthcare but also the lack of financial inclusion faced by most of the continent. I have spent time across West, South, North, and East Africa over the various stages of my career and have noticed similarities between the different regions, but even more so the cultural and infrastructural differences. Bringing my work back to the continent has always been my goal,” she said.
Dieng did just that at 500 Global, where she led the firm’s expansion in the continent, and investments in the likes of Chipper Cash, Homzmart, Stitch, SweepSouth, Emtech, Raise, Pariti, MoneyFellows and MaxAB.
“We invest across stages and are often a startup’s first check. We also invest across sectors. In Africa, we are excited about the B2B sector, BNPL and asset financing, and companies providing solutions to Africa’s massive informal sector which is a primary driver of job creation and economic growth. We are also interesteed in ed-tech, agri-tech, and health-tech, which are all sectors focused on some of the continent’s most pressing challenges,” said Dieng.
“We are excited to see the space mature. Fintech, for example, is blossoming beyond payment processing and into asset financing and accessible consumer and business credit. The expanding talent pool of experienced tech founders is also turning its attention to SMEs and informal businesses in places like Nigeria, for example, where over 41 million SMEs are already benefiting from solutions developed by startups and tailored to their needs.”
Dieng said African startups have the talent, ingenuity, and drive to find success, and that 500 Global believes the missing part is access to strategic funding at an early stage of development.
“This is where 500 can provide its expertise, funding, and experience, from the start. Additionally, African startups are often disconnected from a regional infrastructure that is needed to scale across countries. Making these connections to enable scale is something we advise our portfolio companies on at the early stage,” said Dieng.
The African venture capital ecosystem remained resilient in 2022 despite the onset of significant headwinds, including inflation, rising global interest rates, and exchange rate fluctuations.
“The fact that the ecosystem hit a new record in 2022 shows the continued investor interest and the ecosystem’s ability to adapt to challenges. There is still a crucial need to support African startups at their early stages. Early-stage investments are critical in building a healthy funnel that can lead to a competitive seed landscape and a higher number of high-potential later-stage companies,” Dieng said.
She said 500 Global was proud of all the investments it made in 2022, and was excited to grow its activities in 2023.
“We are expanding our physical presence in Africa with our Cairo office and new partner, Amal Enan, and the launch of our acceleration programmes and ecosystem programme support in Kenya and Egypt,” said Dieng. “We believe that VC investing in emerging markets is a long-term play, and we have demonstrated our ability to establish long-term presences driven by local expertise and international best practice standards in emerging markets like LATAM and SEA. We expect to roll out a similar approach in Africa.”
