Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs, has today announced the launch of affiliate Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage technology companies in Africa. Aiming to serve mission-driven and under-represented founders, the new sector-agnostic program will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and world-class company-building support. Madica seeks to back 25-30 African entrepreneurs with up to USD 200 K each, coupled with multi-year programmatic support.  

The new investment program aims to address systemic challenges faced by early-stage founders in Africa, such as limited access to capital, industry networks, mentorship, and structured training. A central element of the program will be a carefully curated panel of seasoned African operators who will mentor Madica investee companies. Madica will provide this mentor community with rewards tied to company success. To further cultivate this sense of community, the program intends to share a part of its financial returns with the broader ecosystem. In pioneering some of these unique features in an investment program, Madica hopes to promote a vibrant and more equitable funding environment on the continent. 

Madica, short for ‘Made In Africa’, is an Africa-wide initiative and invites founders from across the continent, including those outside the large tech hubs of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa. The program 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 start-ups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), have founder(s) who are engaged full-time and 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 start-ups can find out more and apply by visiting Madica’s website.