Venture capital firm Flat6Labs has launched of a new US$95 million seed fund to nurture and develop early-stage tech startups on the African continent.

Headquartered in Egypt, the Africa Seed Fund (ASF) will focus on three main investment territories on the continent: North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa.

With the new fund, Flat6Labs will extend its reach into several new countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Senegal, amongst others.

Led by Ramez El-Serafy and Dina el-Shenoufy as general partners for the fund, the ASF will invest in more than 160 early-stage startups over the next five years that operate in the technology sector in Africa.

ASF will be investing in 160 companies that are in pre-seed up to pre-series A stage, with tickets ranging from US$150 000-US$500 000.

In addition to seed funding, the Flat6Labs’ ASF, provides portfolio companies joining the program with “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.”

Focus will be on impactful sectors that accelerate digital inclusion through the use of information technologies in addressing social and environmental challenges, such as Healthtech, Fintech, Edtech, Greentech, Agritech, Climatetech, and others.

The first investments in the selected startups are planned to be made before the end of 2023.

“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,” says Ramez El-Serafy, ASF general partner.

Dina el-Shenoufy, also general partner for ASF, adds: “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 program 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.

“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 program.”

The ASF is being established by Flat6Labs, with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit on behalf of the German government and through the Egyptian Agricultural Innovation Project and Scaling Digital Agricultural Innovations through Start-ups project.