Pre-seed investment programme Madica has secured an additional $6 million from its co-founder, fintech investor Flourish Ventures, extending its investment pilot by another three years.
The funding will let Madica back an additional 25 to 30 early-stage start-ups across the continent and deepen its hands-on support for underrepresented founders who remain largely outside traditional venture capital networks, the company said.
Madica has backed 18 start-ups across 10 countries and 12 sectors. Portfolio companies have raised an average of twice Madica’s initial investment in follow-on funding, which the company describes as an early signal of institutional investor confidence.
The extension is designed to gather longer-term data on how a broader cohort of companies turns early momentum into sustainable growth and liquidity events or exits, it said
Launched in 2022 as a sector-agnostic experiment, Madica set out to test whether African founders in overlooked markets, sectors and networks can build globally competitive, venture-scale businesses when given patient pre-seed capital and structured operational backing.
“From the outset, we knew that gathering meaningful evidence would require years of investment, support and learning,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica.
Madica’s portfolio spans frontier and emerging sectors, including climate tech, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotech, human resources technology and mobility. Every business in the portfolio is majority African-owned, more than 50% have at least one female co-founder and 39% are led by female chief executives.
“We retain our conviction that with the right capital and support, exceptional talent across Africa can build world-class businesses. Madica’s first three years have strengthened that belief, and we are excited to continue backing the team as they help more entrepreneurs achieve that mission,” said Efayomi Carr, investment partner at Flourish Ventures and co-founder of Madica.
Madica is reviewing applications from African tech entrepreneurs.
To qualify for the programme, start-ups must have a deployed minimum viable product with initial traction from paying customers, full-time dedicated founders and little to no prior institutional backing, and be headquartered on the African continent.
ITWeb Africa has reported that Madica made its first investments in Algeria and Cameroon as part of five new investments of up to $200 000 each, spanning human resources technology, financial services, semiconductors and the circular economy.
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