Pharos of Alexandria Ventures is making waves in the African startup ecosystem with a fresh $1.4 million fund to back early-stage companies across the continent.
South African entrepreneur Alexandria Procter, who founded DigsConnect, leads this drive to find high-potential firms with actual African market solutions. The fund aims to fuel innovation by connecting driven founders to capital and fostering businesses that meet local needs and regional scalability.
Early-stage African startups receive focused funding
Alexandria Procter emphasised, “Africa’s founders are some of the most resourceful and driven people in the world. They’re building solutions that matter, products that solve real problems in their communities. We want to back that energy and help connect it to global capital.”
Pharos of Alexandria Ventures is accepting applications from entrepreneurs in the pre-seed, seed, or Series A stages. In November, Cape Town will host exclusive sessions where a select number of founders will present their concepts.
The fund prioritises startups with robust founding teams, well-aligned market timing, and evidence of traction, such as user growth or product-market fit. Despite the preference for revenue-generating businesses, Pharos will also evaluate ventures with a clear operational discipline and a compelling vision. Clean cap tables, efficient capital utilisation, and intellectual property ownership distinguish startups.
Pharos focuses on sectors including fintech, software as a service (SaaS), climate and energy innovation, mobility, and digital infrastructure. Procter highlighted that “not every great African company needs to go global. There’s enormous value in businesses that scale across emerging markets and deliver real social impact”.
The investment will be approximately $56,000 to $560,000, depending on the stage and development indicators. To capitalise on this opportunity to expedite their ventures and influence the continent’s emerging startup scene, founders interested in applying must submit their applications by October 17, 2025.