TLcom Doubles Down On Early Bets Amid Setbacks, Eyes 10 More Pre-Seed Deals

TLcom Capital, one of Africa’s largest venture capital firms, is accelerating its earliest-stage investments even as several of its high-profile portfolio companies face operational headwinds.

The firm announced today that its dedicated USD 5 M pre-seed fund, TAPSI (TIDE Africa Pre-Seed Investments), has hit the 50% deployment milestone after backing South African travel payment platform TurnStay. This signals TLcom’s aggressive push into riskier, formative-stage betting despite recent sectoral blows.

Launched in 2022, TAPSI provides up to USD 200 K to startups at the idea-validation stage, far earlier than TLcom’s typical Series A focus. The vehicle acts as an “upstream feeder” for its core USD 154 M TIDE Africa Fund II, allowing standout performers to graduate into larger seed rounds.

Portfolio companies like Nigerian edtech/HR tech firm Talstack have already leveraged TAPSI’s capital to validate models and secure follow-on funding from TIDE II in 2024.

TAPSI’s current portfolio reflects TLcom’s pan-African scope, encompassing: TurnStay, a South African travel-tech that just closed a USD 2 M seed round; Tradehub, an Egyptian B2B e-commerce player; Bright Financial, a fintech operating in Sundan and Ethiopia; Agrails, a Kenyan agtech; as well as 3 female-founded startups via partnership with FirstCheck Africa.

With half its capital deployed, TLcom plans up to 10 more pre-seed deals by end-2026 across major innovation hubs, maintaining a sector-agnostic approach.

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The pre-seed push unfolds against a backdrop of challenges within TLcom’s broader portfolio, with the recent shutdown of Okra a notable blow. The open banking pioneer, into which TLcom led a USD 1 M pre-seed in 2020, ceased operations recently after struggling with Nigeria’s macroeconomic turmoil and a failed pivot to cloud infrastructure. Founder Fara Ashiru Jituboh stepped down in May.

Another portfolio setback is seen in Kobo360’s struggles, which saw TLcom cut its losses and walk away. The logistics unicorn candidate underwent significant job cuts amid sector-wide issues like cargo theft and dampened investor interest.

Meanwhile, food-procurement platform Vendease has survived but downsized as it navigates internal squabbles and operational hurdles, as well as a complex logistics and inflation-hit landscape. And Twiga has gone through upheavals of its own.

These strains highlight the fierce operational realities beneath Africa’s tech hype, even for VC-backed leaders.

Partner Eloho Omame defends TLcom’s conviction: “Building in Africa is not for the faint-hearted. However, the likelihood of success significantly increases if we support founders earlier and grow alongside them.”

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The firm’s multi-stage strategy aims to de-risk growth by embedding earlier. This entails identifying winners pre-competition, securing equity at lower valuations, and cementing relationships before scaling crises.

The approach also responds to Africa’s persistent “Series B gap”, where startups stall after seed rounds due to scarce growth capital. By shepherding companies from pre-seed to Series A/B via its USD 154 M TIDE II fund, TLcom positions itself as a one-stop partner.

TLcom’s move coincides with Africa’s venture market showing fragile recovery signs, with 2025 offering glimpses of a rebound after last year’s slump. Fintech still dominates, but climate-tech and AI gain traction. Local investors like FirstCheck Africa (female-focused) and Ventures Platform expand despite headwinds.

Yet failures like Okra underscore that market fit and unit economics remain non-negotiable even with early VC backing. Ultimately, for TLcom, TAPSI is a long-game strategy to plant many seeds, nurture the strongest, and accept that some will wilt in Africa’s volatile climate.

As Omame notes, the goal is building “from ideation to exit”, implying that today’s USD 200 K bets could become tomorrow’s Andelas (TLcom’s unicorn success) or, unfortunately, join Okra in the graveyard.