Flourish Ventures, a San Francisco, CA-based global venture capital firm investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs, launched a structured investment program for pre-seed stage technology companies in Africa.
Led by Emmanuel Adegboye, Madica is a new sector-agnostic program that will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and company-building support. Over the next three years, it seeks to back 25-30 African entrepreneurs with up to $200,000 each, coupled with multi-year programmatic support.
A central element of the program will be a curated panel of seasoned African operators who will mentor Madica founders. To further cultivate this sense of community, the program intends to share a part of its financial returns with the broader ecosystem.
It is an Africa-wide initiative inviting founders from across the continent, including those outside the large tech hubs of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. Further, Madica will prioritize companies led by local founders, women, and those focused on frontier sectors to shore up gaps in funding on the continent.
To be eligible for the program, mission-driven startups must:
- have a minimum viable product (MVP)
- have founder(s) who are engaged full time
- have received little or no institutional funding
Madica operates an open application process so founders can apply without an introduction. The program will work with partners such as incubators, accelerators, and angels to identify and support entrepreneurs. All applicants will undergo the same evaluation procedure, and investments will be made on a rolling basis throughout the year. Applications are now open, and interested startups can find out more and apply by visiting Madica’s website.
FinSMEs