South African venture builder Founders Factory Africa has received an additional $114 million in capital to expand its hybrid tech startup investing approach throughout the continent.
According to TechCrunch, the startup, which invests in both cash and operational help, intends to “scale its model to better serve founders across the African tech ecosystem.”
The Mastercard Foundation and Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, an impact fund inside the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, made the investment.
“We are excited to have new and dynamic funding, which follows on from previous investments into Founders Factory Africa by Standard Bank Group, Small Foundation, and Netcare Group,” Alina Truhina, co-founder of Founders Factory Africa, said.
Since its inception in Johannesburg in 2018, the company has helped to grow over 55 African innovative startups. It has emerged as an important driving force within the African startup ecosystem, with a focus on the creation of early-stage enterprises.
According to TechCrunch, the organization “provides up to $250,000 in equity capital to startups at the idea, pre-seed, and seed stages, as well as $150,000 in catalytic capital in nondilutive funds into portfolio companies.”
According to Bongani Sithole, CEO of Founders Factory Africa, if Africa is to flourish, more people must support tech-driven, problem-solving firms that have the potential to rapidly develop and make a substantial effect.
“For us, we are not in the business of proving if a venture studio model works or not, to be honest. Businesses in Africa and the nascency of the market suggest that African founders, with where we are today, still need a lot of hands-on support,” he told TechCrunch in an interview.
“Our role as Founders Factory Africa is to provide founders with the funding, knowledge, and hands-on venture-building support they need to achieve commercial success and create outsized, systematic impact,” Sithole added.
Founders Factory Africa hopes to reach more African tech startups with the latest funding.