Africa Finance Corporation Commits $100 Million to African Tech…

Team S · 2026-05-19T15:32:43.000Z

Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African development bank with over $19 billion in total assets, has launched a $100 million fund-of-funds programme dedicated to African tech venture capital managers. The programme sits within AFC's telecommunications and technology department and marks a formal entry into early-stage tech investing, a departure from the institution's established focus on infrastructure assets including oil and gas, mining, ports, telecoms networks, and subsea cables. The first two commitments total $40 million. $25 million has been allocated to Lightrock Africa II, the London-headquartered impact investment firm with African portfolio companies including Moniepoint and M-Kopa. $15 million has gone to Future Africa, an early-stage venture capital firm operating across the continent at pre-seed and seed stage. The remaining $60 million is being held while AFC vets additional fund managers for allocation. Begna Gebreyes, AFC's head of heavy industries, telecoms, and technology, confirmed the structure directly to TechCabal. The two funds together give AFC coverage across the African venture stack from pre-seed through growth stage, while creating a deal pipeline for the larger direct balance-sheet investments AFC has traditionally made. Beyond the $100 million, AFC is running a parallel strategy to attract $300 to $500 million in co-investment from US and European foundations, endowments, and pension funds. Gebreyes described these as institutions that have sought African exposure but lacked the on-the-ground capacity to evaluate individual fund managers across the continent. AFC is positioning itself as the institutional anchor that gives those investors a structured entry point. African tech startups raised $3.4 billion in 2025, with Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa accounting for 82% of total deployment on the continent. Africa-focused fund managers raised $107 million across six final closes in the same year. Development finance institutions represented 27% of total VC commitments in 2025, down from prior years, according to the African Private Capital Association. Sources: TechCabal, 18 May 2026; African Private Capital Association VC Annual Report 2025; AFC FY2025 Results Statement

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Africa Finance Corporation Commits $100 Million to African Tech… | Newnex