LoftyInc Capital Secures USD 43 M To Bridge Africa’s Startup Funding Gap

LoftyInc Capital, one of Africa’s most active investors, has secured USD 43 M in the first close of its third fund, LoftyInc Alpha. The fund will focus on late-seed and Series A startups across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa, shifting from LoftyInc’s traditional pre-seed and seed-stage investments, which adds to concerns about the disappearance of early-stage funding sources.

Backers include sovereign wealth funds like Egypt’s MSMEDA and Tunisia’s Anava Fund of Funds, development finance institutions such as FMO, Proparco (FISEA), AfricaGrow, and IFC, as well as African high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and European family offices.

Founded by Idris Ayo Bello in 2012, LoftyInc has played a key role in Africa’s tech evolution, investing in Flutterwave, Andela, Wave, Moove, and OmniRetail. With over 200 investments and 14 exits, the firm differentiates itself through market access, business development, and investor matchmaking support.

The new fund aims to address Africa’s funding bottleneck, particularly the low transition rate from pre-seed to Series A. A recent Partech report showed Series A ticket sizes fell 18% in 2023, highlighting the need for structured capital at the late-seed stage. However, WT’s latest African VC report shows that early-stage capital shrunk to 9% in 2024. Hence, the concerns about LoftyInc’s latest move inadvertently widening one gap to close another.

LoftyInc Alpha will position startups for Series A success, providing follow-on investments and co-investor networks, aligning with TLcom Capital, Partech, and Norrsken22 at growth stages. At least 30% of the fund will be deployed in Francophone Africa.

With an expanded leadership team, including Mariam Kamel and Kevin Simmons as general partners, LoftyInc aims to deepen its footprint in Africa’s financial services, logistics, health tech, retail, climate, deep tech, and AI sectors, driving the continent’s “everyday economy.”