MENA-focused seed investor Flat6Labs has announced the launch of a new US$95 million fund to nurture the growth and development of early-stage tech startups on the African continent.
Flat6Labs is the MENA region’s leading seed and early stage venture capital firm, running a host of startup programmes and active in Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Since it was founded 12 years ago, the company has invested more than US$16 million in startups.
Its new Africa Seed Fund (ASF) will focus on three main investment territories in Africa – North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa. Flat6Labs will be extending its reach into several new territories, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Senegal, amongst others. Flat6Labs will be investing in 160 companies that are in pre-seed up to pre-Series A stages, with tickets ranging from US$150,000 to US$500,000.
The ASF, which will be led by general partners Ramez El-Serafy and Dina el-Shenoufy, will invest in more than 160 early-stage startups over the next five years that operate in the technology sector in Africa, with a focus on impactful sectors that accelerate digital inclusion through the use of information technologies and industries which contribute to addressing social and environmental challenges, such as e-health, fintech, ed-tech, green-tech, agri-tech and climate tech.
“We are extremely excited about the launch of the Africa Seed Fund. Africa is one of the most exciting regions to invest in tech and innovation, with huge untapped potential and unique business opportunities. We will leverage our experience and knowledge to guide the startup founders to create truly scalable, investment-ready, Africa-based companies,” El-Serafy said.
Flat6Labs’ Africa Seed Programme provides portfolio companies joining the programme with seed funding, regional business support, access to a regional network of seasoned local mentors, as well as regulatory and logistical support to set up and grow their businesses. The programme also adapts to be regional with a hybrid model allowing for physical on-the-ground interactions in local markets while combining virtual elements that allow for cohort interactions across the entire fund region. Two cohorts will be run annually, with an average of 10 to 15 startups per cohort. The first investments in the selected startups are planned to be made before the end of 2023.
“The Africa Seed Fund is well-positioned to be a catalyst for driving long-term positive change that the youth of Africa really deserve, and to providing resources to the brightest of them, while accelerating the future of the African continent. The programme is designed to provide entrepreneurs with the resources that they need to be able to grow and to scale-up their businesses to new heights,” said el-Shenoufy.
“We have observed that the entrepreneurial market has matured over the years with a new wave of founders that are more experienced. We will also cater for these founders and offer higher ticket sizes to support these companies and a different track to the programme.”
