Madica, a structured pre-seed investment programme for African startups, has secured an additional $6 million from Flourish Ventures to extend its investment pilot by three years, with plans to support 25 to 30 more companies across the continent.
The extension builds on the programme’s first three years of investment and company-building support, with Madica seeking to strengthen its evidence that underserved founders can build globally competitive businesses and generate venture capital returns when given the right funding and resources.
Launched in 2022, Madica was established to demonstrate that exceptional founders operating in Africa’s overlooked markets, sectors and networks can build successful businesses with appropriate capital and support. The sector-agnostic programme has since invested in 18 startups across 10 countries and 12 sectors, combining patient pre-seed funding with structured, hands-on company-building assistance.
According to Madica, its portfolio companies have attracted additional funding averaging twice the amount of the programme’s initial investments. The organisation views this as an early indication of investor confidence as the startups work towards the commercial milestones needed to challenge conventional assumptions about where venture-scale businesses can emerge in Africa.
The additional funding will enable Madica to monitor how a broader portfolio of companies progresses from early traction to sustained growth. It will also assess how its investment and support model contributes to their development and their potential to deliver venture returns through exits.
The extended pilot will continue Madica’s original objective of generating tangible evidence to challenge assumptions about which founders and markets offer viable venture investment opportunities across Africa. The findings are expected to inform improvements to its approach and provide practical insights that other investors can adapt.
“Madica was launched as an experiment to test whether pairing capital with hands-on company-building support could help overlooked founders building world-class businesses generate venture outcomes, and in many ways, our work sits at the intersection of the very many questions that underpin the state of early-stage venture investing in Africa. From the outset, we knew that gathering meaningful evidence would require years of investment, support and learning”, said Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica.
“Three years have given us valuable lessons and encouraging early signals, but building enduring companies and assessing venture outcomes takes longer. Flourish Ventures’ continued commitment gives us the capital to build on those lessons and test our conviction across a broader portfolio while deepening our company-building support. We want the resulting evidence to give other investors a model they can apply, shaping where funding goes and how founders are backed across Africa, well beyond Madica”, he continued.
Madica’s portfolio spans more than a dozen sectors, including climate technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, human resources, biotechnology and mobility, reflecting the diversity of innovation emerging across Africa.
The programme’s application data further highlights the scale of entrepreneurial activity beyond established investment hubs. Applications have come from 78 countries and covered 28 sectors, with 40 per cent originating outside Africa’s four largest venture capital markets.
Madica said these figures demonstrate the breadth of untapped entrepreneurial potential across the continent and the need for more inclusive funding opportunities. All companies in its portfolio are majority African-owned, more than half have at least one female co-founder, and 39 per cent are led by female chief executives.
These figures reflect the programme’s focus on identifying and supporting founders who have historically been overlooked by established venture capital networks.
“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 continues to invite applications from exceptional founders building early-stage startups across Africa.
To qualify, startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP) with demonstrated traction from a small number of paying customers. Founders must be working full-time on the business, the company must have little or no institutional funding, and its headquarters must be in Africa.
Interested founders can apply through Madica’s official website.
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