TLcom Capital, an early-stage African venture capital firm, raised $154 million from investors to expand to Egypt and invest in innovative entrepreneurs solving the continent’s problems.
The business said Monday that the European Investment Bank, Allianz SE, and Visa Foundation are investors in the fresh investment round. DEG Impact’s joint venture, AfricaGrow, and Bertelsmann also invested in TIDE Africa Fund II.
According to the release, TLcom Capital TIDE Africa Fund II has invested in ILLA, a Cairo-based middle-mile logistics platform, and LittleFish, a South African-based e-commerce platform.
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In an interview, TLcom Capital founder and managing partner Maurizio Caio indicated that the VC firm would invest heavily in female-founded African tech businesses, such as TIDE Africa Fund I.
TLcom Capital’s $154 million investment is a game-changer for the African startup ecosystem. It provides much-needed capital to fuel innovation and growth and signals a shift in perception, highlighting Africa as a hotspot for tech investment. As startups across the continent leverage this funding to expand their operations and develop impactful solutions, the ripple effects will be felt far beyond the borders of Africa, shaping the future of entrepreneurship and innovation on a global scale.
TLcom Capitals Relief African startups
The cash offering may help African IT and startup enterprises after VC inflows fell last year. The London-based African Private Capital Association reported a 31% drop to $4.5 billion in 2023.
The paper ascribed the fall to weak currencies and rising inflation, which deterred foreign investors from African economies.
Capital is scarce in Africa, especially for entrepreneurs. The EIB is pleased to support Africa’s startup ecosystem, which has the potential to boost inclusive economic growth and constructive social change, according to Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.
About TLcom Capital
Lagos-based payment infrastructure provider Zone raised $8.5 million in a Seed round headed by TLcom Capital in March. TLcom met Zone co-founders Obi Emetarom and Wale Onawunmi five years ago while fundraising for AppZone.
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Although their fintech knowledge in Nigeria pleased us, we opted not to invest. We chose a product-centric business model to establish a venture-scale firm while providing valuable core banking software and payment solutions to our clients at AppZone.Contact with the team was maintained. “We were thrilled to co-lead the Seed round with Flourish Ventures when they decided to build Zone as a standalone proposition from AppZone…”
African seed and series A investor TLcom Capital has over $300 million under management and backs 17 firms, including Andela, one of the continent’s six unicorns, edutech platform uLesson, and analytics and marketing company Terragon Group.