African entrepreneurs and leaders

One of Africa's most active early-stage funds by volume. 150+ investments across 30+ countries.

Fashion supply chain responsibility

Organizations transforming fashion and textile supply chains in Africa

Leading South African VC. Andrea Böhmert and Keet van Zyl lead. Focus on scaling SA tech companies. Portfolio includes Entersekt, SweepSouth, Ctrl. $50M+ fund. Known for Series A+ investments and supporting companies to exit.

Growth-stage tech and SaaS companies.

Enterprise software investing

Refugee microloans via crowdfunding

Kenyan youth entrepreneurs across all sectors with viable business plans. The fund prioritizes accessibility — designed for young people who cannot access traditional bank financing due to lack of collateral. Group loans require registered youth groups with strong governance. Individual Vuka loans suit more established youth businesses.

Community-led philanthropic giving

African founders building tech-enabled solutions for agriculture and climate challenges

Early-stage founders solving critical development challenges.

Women microenterprises

New Southern Africa VC (launched 2022). Focused on founders building tech solutions for Southern Africa problems. Growing fund with founder-first philosophy.

Francophone Africa co-working and accelerator network. Open innovation model.

Early-stage, locally led nonprofits in East Africa

Islamic Relief's microfinance programmes target the most financially excluded communities in its operational areas across Africa. The approach uses Sharia-compliant instruments (qard hassan, murabaha, mudaraba) to provide interest-free credit and business support to small-scale entrepreneurs who lack access to conventional banking. Beneficiaries are typically identified through community-based processes rather than open applications.

IsDB finances development projects in its 57 member states using Sharia-compliant instruments. In Africa, priority areas include infrastructure (roads, bridges, energy), agriculture and food security, health systems, education, and water/sanitation. The bank works primarily with sovereign governments but the private sector arm (ICD) also finances companies. Strong alignment with national development plans and OIC membership are prerequisites.

Mid-market SMEs with sustainable revenue and local impact.

Private sector and SME financing

Fact-checker training and standards