Demo Africa, a firm that runs pitching contests for African tech companies in search of investment and exposure, will launch a $100 million fund through investment arm, Demo Ventures, which will be dedicated to supporting African tech startups.
The Nairobi-based investment management company will raise and manage the $100 million fund with the aim of assisting early stage and growth startups across Africa, according to Techmoran.
DEMO Africa is one of the flagship initiatives of Lions@frica and aims to connect African startups to the global ecosystem.
Lions@frica is a public-private partnership launched by the U.S. Department of State to tap the startup and innovation ecosystems of targeted fast-growing African economies.
Demo Africa runs various pitching competitions and connects African startups to global tech investors and stakeholders.
Having been involved in the support and mentorship of more than 3,000 early stage startups over the last six years, Demo Africa helped those businesses to raise over $60 million for their growth and operation.
The fund will officially be launched in Morocco this coming October. Demo Ventures, which was registered in Kenya later last year, has announced the appointment of Tania Ngima as its new chief executive officer, according to Weetracker.
Ngima began her time at the helm of the investment arm of Demo Africa on Jul. 15, joining the company as a strategy and finance specialist with 15 years of experience in senior positions within manufacturing, renewable energy, technology infrastructure, real estate, telecommunications, and financial services.
The five countries that the new $100 million fund will focus on include Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, according to Ventureburn.
New CEO Ngima confirmed the five African countries, while identifying consumer web and mobile, renewable energy, and financial services as the major sectors in which the fund will invest in early-stage tech startups.
“We are looking for companies that can scale quickly and especially those with the potential to operate across multiple geographies,” Ngima told Ventureburn.
Demo Africa have a track record of success, with alumni including Soko, Flowgear, Spacepointe, Zuvaa, Weza Tele, and Chura.
Soko is a jewelry e-commerce platform that empowers artisans in East Africa. It works with the United Nations and Hollywood celebrities.
Weza Tele, a Kenya-based fintech startup, was bought in 2015 by financial services giant AFB for $1.7 million, according to Disrupt Africa. At the time it was the largest acquisition in Kenya’s history of startup acquisitions.
SpacePointe is a Nigerian tech startup that helps African small and medium enterprises to increase their bottom line revenue in their offline and online market channels. In 2016 the company raised $1.2 million in funding from numerous investors.
