Farouk Jivani

Twenty years ago, I kept seeing the same pattern. Strong businesses, disciplined founders, loyal customers, and a persistent gap between what these companies deserved and what they could access. The common denominator, almost every time, was gender. That observation became a thesis. That thesis became Alitheia Capital. This International Women's Day, I want to move past the celebration and sit with the harder question: why does the gap still exist, and what does it cost us as investors, as an industry, as a continent to keep ignoring it? Empowerment without capital is fragile. And capital that ignores half the economy isn't just inequitable but also inefficient. We've spent two decades building the evidence, and the returns are there. The businesses are there. The only thing that has ever been missing is intentional allocation. Sharing this because the conversation is one, I want to keep having loudly with people who are willing to move beyond rhetoric.  Happy International Women's Day to all the women who kept building when the capital said no — you were never the risk; you were always the opportunity. Alitheia Capital

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“If your business requires you to build warehouses, fleets and inventory while also subsidising price-sensitive merchants, on venture capital timelines, the scale of difficulty increases." Really great reflection on scaling B2B commerce in Africa (and its challenges) by Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega. My take: The survivors in this space have been clinical about which risks to carry on their own balance sheets versus which to push to partners. This is true for any capital-intensive model targeting price-sensitive segments. Give it a read. Link below ⬇️

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We are very pleased to share our 2025 Africa Tech VC Report.  Call it our contribution to all the passionate discussions about the evolution of our ecosystem throughout chat groups, conference and coffee tables. 😏   So what happened in 2025 ?     1/Global venture capital raced toward AI.  Meanwhile African tech was building momentum on their own terms, growing 25% to $4B+   2/ Investment accelerated in sectors foundational to African economies (enterprise software, e-commerce, cleantech, and mobility passed $200m), reflecting the continued digitization of the continent through scalable business models.    3/We also saw growing ecosystem maturity. Series A and Series B activity picked up meaningfully, more startups reached the scaling phase, and capital was deployed more evenly across stages.   4/Debt financing was the big news. It hit a record high in 2025 and is now playing a central role in African startup funding. This is a structural shift in how Africa startup access capital.   Some key figures from this year’s report:  - US$4.1B funding raised by African startups in equity & debt funding, signaling the ecosystem’s strongest year since 2022.  -Equity funding remained stable with 462 deals (+1% YoY), while debt funding hit a record with 107 deals (+40% YoY).  - Kenya led the continent in total capital raised ($1.04B), powered by its dominance in debt ($498M) and 4 of the 9 megadeals recorded in 2025.  - 86% of funding went to the top 5 sectors (Fintech, Cleantech, E-Commerce, Enterprise, and Healthtech), marking the strongest diversification of funded sectors in years.    We are grateful to all colleagues who contributed data to this report. After all only 53% of the deals we tracked were fully public.   A huge thank you to my colleagues at Partech behind this year’s edition: @Marie Benrubi, @Bakr Bizr, @Sabrine Chahrour, @Cyril Collon, @Tito Cookey-Gam, @Lewam Kefela, @Matthieu Marchand, @Ogugua Osakwe-Adegbite, and @Isabelle Tresson   Ten years on, the story continues, and African tech is still charting its own course. Read the full report HERE   : https://lnkd.in/dE6m9N3p Africa is on! 

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The last couple of months have been full on: Climate Week in New York, new programmes with Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Imperial College London, and wrapping our Venture Studio cohort in Accra with Autodesk — supporting founders tackling sustainability challenges across Africa. But one moment that’s really stayed with me came at The Drop in Malmö, during a small group discussion called a Ripple, where we explored the question: 👉 When is the right time for investors to speak up? In a world as polarised as ours, silence is no longer neutral. Yet the rules of capital were built to minimise risk and preserve stability. So how do investors committed to social and environmental impact balance conviction with the responsibility to manage capital? It’s a tricky question with no clean answers — but one we can’t ignore. I’ve written more about this tension, and how I see my own role evolving — bridging talent and capital, trying to reform systems from within — in my latest Substack piece (link in comments). #justtransition #climatechange

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We Build and Fund Africa’s Foundational Tech As an organization, AfriLeap Capital sees itself as a key architect and banker for Africa's digital economy, focusing on the essential, underlying technologies that will empower the entire ecosystem for decades to come. Our ultimate goal is to: ● Accelerate Digital Transformation: By providing the core tools, we enable thousands of other businesses and innovators to thrive. ● Drive Economic Growth: Foundational tech reduces costs, increases efficiency, and opens up new markets across the continent. ● Promote Sovereignty & Inclusion: We aim to ensure that Africa's digital future is built in Africa, by Africans, and for Africans, reducing reliance on foreign tech giants and ensuring solutions are tailored to local needs. AfriLeap Capital | We Build and Fund Africa’s Foundational Tech Learn more: www.afrileapcapital.com

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Trading on a Promise: How the AfCFTA Is (Not Yet) Changing African Deals The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) was meant to change everything. One market. One set of rules. One continent. But in M&A transactions across Africa, we’re still negotiating like it’s 2012. Lately, I’ve worked on transactions involving investee companies looking to scale across several African markets. The AfCFTA is theoretically in force. Practically, it makes no difference. We still navigate different regulators, different tax regimes, and different licensing frameworks—all shaped by similar local content and protectionist agendas, but with very different ideas of what “investment facilitation” means. The AfCFTA’s promise of a unified African market is inspiring. But the operational and legal machinery that supports dealmaking hasn’t caught up. What We’re Still Dealing With: • No harmonised merger control regime. A pan-African acquisition still requires multiple local competition filings (plus COMESA or CEMAC in some cases), each with its own timelines, thresholds, and paperwork. • No tax or licensing passport. Expanding a business across borders still means local incorporation, local regulatory licensing, and (often) navigating equity participation rules—despite AfCFTA’s stated goals of integration. Even in countries like Ghana and Kenya where simplified branch registration is technically possible, authorities continue to treat these as separate and independent legal entities. • Capital mobility? Not quite. The agreement speaks of free movement of capital and investment, but many member states still maintain strict capital controls, approval requirements, or foreign exchange restrictions that complicate exits or dividend repatriation. So what has changed? Symbolism. Optimism. And—if you read between the lines—a subtle shift in long-term planning. Portfolio companies are beginning to think more regionally. Some fund managers are testing scalable structures (regional holdcos, cross-border management teams). But for now, execution still lives in the old world. What Might Change? If AfCFTA evolves into something closer to the EU’s regulatory framework—with regional licensing, mutual recognition regimes, and centralised competition review—it could materially shift how we structure and scale transactions. That’s the vision. But it will take time, domestic legislation, and regulatory cooperation. Until then, deal structuring in Africa remains a highly localised exercise—despite the continental flag. #AfCFTA #AfricanDeals #PrivateEquity #CrossBorderM&A #PanAfricanInvesting #LegalExecution

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🎯 Funding Spotlight: Rolling Capital for Essential Services Delivery How serious operators should read this funding signal: AJA Education an Foundation is funding execution-ready organizations improving water, health, and education outcomes across Africa. This is delivery capital — not experimentation money. This funding is best suited for operators with proven models ready to deepen impact or scale. 💰 Funding Structure & Use ✔ Funding type: Grant ✔ Ticket size: $10,000 – $100,000 ✔ What this funding is meant to unlock: – Direct service delivery – Scaling proven interventions – Stronger community systems ✔ Expected scope: Africa-based implementation programs 🌍 Who This Is Really For (and Why) ✔ Ideal operators: NGOs and social enterprises with execution track record ✔ Geographic focus: Africa ✔ Funder priority lens: – Optimizing for outcomes, not experimentation – Reducing delivery risk and weak monitoring ✔ Minimum readiness signal: – Clear logic model – Past results – Local delivery partnerships ⛔ Who Should NOT Apply This is not a fit if you: – Are testing unproven ideas – Cannot track outcomes clearly – Lack community or institutional anchors 📅 Key Dates 🗓 Deadline: Rolling (apply anytime) 🔗 Official Application Link 👉 https://lnkd.in/dfWCQQRc Funder Logic Notes (Read This Twice) 🔥 Positioning: Pick one core outcome and go deep 🔥 Execution: Show operational discipline 🔥 Evidence: Simple metrics > complex narratives 🔥 Continuity: Demonstrate local ownership and sustainability Funding follows clarity, not effort. 📌 Want Strategic Support? Comment “SUPPORT” for donor-fit and readiness assessment. 📌 Stay Ahead in 2026 - Join Impact Funding Insider ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dFn9Eev3 #FundingSpotlight #ImpactFunding #NonDilutiveFunding #AfricaRising #InvestorReadiness #drgozieezeh #drgozie

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Could Nigeria become the logistics hub for West Africa with on demand platforms? The Opportunity - On demand warehousing with scale as you go leases - Last mile delivery integrated with major e commerce platforms - Fulfillment within 20 minutes, insured and secured The Problem - Landlords demand 12 months advance rent - Riders often untrained, untracked, uninsured - Customers lack visibility, trust and scalability The Solution - Warehousing with WMS, insurance and security built in - Branded, trained independent riders with GPS and insurance - Full integration with Shopify, WooCommerce and others The Market - Nigeria alone has 100000 commercial properties poorly marketed - 65 percent of Nigeria GDP already within Kwik coverage - Global platforms rushing into West Africa driving demand For Investors - 2000 sqm already under management, 87 percent occupancy - 50000 plus monthly active customers, 3.8M deliveries completed - 45 percent take rate warehousing, 25 percent take rate delivery Kwik is fund raising and seeking strategically aligned investors. See https://kwik.delivery Ask for financials. DM me if you want more info. Join us on this funding round. See following video for more : https://lnkd.in/ez-weUA5 [URL] Why should African e commerce stay constrained by rigid warehouses and unreliable delivery when an on demand model already works?

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The African Development Bank Group has a dedicated agro-processing facility. The IFC - International Finance Corporation has a food and agribusiness arm. Agence Française de Développement is actively deploying in West Africa right now. On paper? Perfect fits. In practice? You'll spend 18 months in procurement cycles and still get asked for three years of audited financials on a business you're trying to build. DFIs don't say this out loud. They are designed for later-stage capital, not catalytic first position. They want to see operations, not designs. Revenue, not vision. Track record, not potential. That creates a structural mismatch in sequencing when founders arrive at DFIs too early. Then they leave discouraged, thinking the capital doesn't exist for what they're building. It exists. The sequencing was just wrong. DFIs belong in your Tranche 2 or 3 stack — once proof of concept is established, once your first anchor is in, once the numbers are moving. They are validators, not ignitors. So if you're pre-revenue and a DFI rejected you or ghosted you that's not a signal to give up. It's a signal to build your capital architecture correctly from the start. The catalytic capital is out there. It just doesn't live at a DFI. I work with African infrastructure founders to sequence their capital raises correctly so they stop burning time at the wrong doors and start walking through the right ones.

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5 reminders for operators when you’re building something big, especially in energy, infrastructure, and mobility. This is how we think at Kofa.

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Each month at Delta40 Venture Studio, we analyze Africa's most active climate tech investors using data from Africa: The Big Deal. This month's finding caught my attention: 4 out of 5 of the most active climate tech investors in Africa are grantmakers. Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities, DEG, GSMA Foundation, and Efficiency for Access lead in deal count, with our friends at Catalyst Fund standing out as the only equity investor in the top 5, having written the most checks in the past 18 months. So, does this mean too much grant funding is flowing to for-profit climate tech startups in Africa? I’d argue the opposite. To make the “top 5,” an investor only needs 7+ deals in 18 months. In fact, there are only 29 investors (grant, debt, and equity combined) who have done 3+ disclosed deals across the continent. What we need is more — more investors, more capital, and more deal flow across all types of instruments. And we especially need grant capital. Early-stage startups in Africa face far steeper barriers than those in markets like the U.S., where for-profit companies tap into programs like SBIR — which issues around 4,000 grants annually to early-stage ventures. Let’s not forget: most successful U.S. climate tech companies scaled on the back of concessional capital. Tesla alone has reportedly received around $16 billion in grants, low-interest loans, and tax credits. Yet we expect African climate tech startups to compete globally without comparable concessional funding programs? Grant capital isn't crowding out private investment in Africa—it's filling a critical gap that barely scratches the surface of what's needed to build a thriving climate tech ecosystem. So my takeaway is simple: if private investors are worried about how much grant funding startups are getting, there's a simple solution—deploy more capital. Sam Mbugua Lyndsay Holley Handler Sidee Dlamini Tyler Karahalios Zlotoff Kanyinsola Ojeshina Leslie Labruto Biola Alabi

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Proud to share our latest contribution to Africa’s financial transformation journey. At TransformEdge, we believe that Africa’s growth potential is immense but too often held back by fragmented systems, ESG complexity, and structural inefficiencies. Our new whitepaper, presented on 30 July 2025 at the Development Finance Conference at UCT Business School, explores how Finance Transformation Hubs powered by AI, data, and real time capital planning can help reshape finance across the continent. This work is designed for leaders across DFIs, banks, private equity, and public institutions who are ready to turn complexity into clarity and build finance functions that truly drive sustainable, inclusive growth. I’m incredibly proud of the team for producing this important paper. You can read it here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/drTumhww #FinanceTransformation #InclusiveGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ESG #DigitalFinance #DataDrivenStrategy #AfricaFinance TransformEdge standardbank standardbank Absa Group RMB - Rand Merchant Bank Nedbank OLDMUTUAL, S.A. DE C.V. AFDB IFC - International Finance Corporation World Bank

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🔓 UNLOCKING AFRICA'S MANUFACTURING POTENTIAL: The Capital Coordination Challenge Africa holds 30-60% of global critical mineral reserves but produces less than 2% of global manufacturing value-add. At a recent panel discussion, leaders from IFC, IDC, Absa CIB, and Dytor Capital dissected why—and, how to fix it. 💡 THE CORE INSIGHT: The constraint is no longer geology. It's financing design. 🎯 THREE CRITICAL STRATEGIES EMERGED: 1️⃣ CREATE A CAPITAL CONTINUUM Stop leaving entrepreneurs to navigate funding in the dark. Each capital provider serves different stages: • Early stage → Private capital/VC • Development stage → DFIs (IFC, IDC) with patient, longer-tenor capital  • Scale stage → Commercial banks for proven projects The gap? No roadmap showing entrepreneurs which door to knock on and when. 2️⃣ MATCH CURRENCY TO CASH FLOWS A persistent mistake: borrowing in dollars while earning in local currency (or vice versa). David Renwick (Absa) highlighted projects with 60% local currency revenue trying to service euro/dollar debt. The solution is simple but often ignored: align your debt currency with your revenue streams. 3️⃣ SECURE OFF-TAKERS EARLY Ken Osei (IFC) was clear: "We need to see who's buying the end product." An identified off-taker fundamentally changes your risk profile and unlocks capital across the continuum. Connect the dots from raw material to end customer before seeking financing. ⚡ THE COORDINATION GAP David Jarvis (IDC) posed the critical question: "Isn't there an opportunity for better coordination amongst ourselves?" Currently, each institution operates independently. Entrepreneurs waste months (or years) approaching the wrong capital provider at the wrong stage. A coordinated approach—where institutions understand each other's requirements and actively refer deals—could dramatically accelerate deployment. 🚀 THE URGENCY Mark Dytor's closing captured the mood: "We can't afford another five years. We can't afford for all the minerals of Africa to be taken off the continent. It's time to act now." 📊 WHAT MAKES PROJECTS BANKABLE? ✓ Long-term commercial sustainability ✓ Clear path to commercialization  ✓ Identified off-take agreements ✓ Strong management teams (people > spreadsheets) ✓ Currency-matched financing structures ✓ Understanding of full value chain dynamics 💼 FOR ENTREPRENEURS: Your job isn't just building a great business—it's knowing your stage and approaching the right capital partner. 🏛️ FOR GOVERNMENTS: The panel was unanimous: policy certainty, infrastructure development, and streamlined regulation would do more to unlock capital than any single funding initiative. 🔗 THE BOTTOM LINE: Africa has the minerals. The capital exists. Talented entrepreneurs are building amazing businesses. What's missing is coordination, speed, and smart financing design. Dr Martyn Davies Laura (Cornish) NicholsonAndrew Lane

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Succession is more than a handover - it’s a hand-crafted journey. In this powerful episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye explores what it truly takes to raise credible, competent, and respected leaders for the family business. From early exposure and external work experience to the vital role of governance, mentorship, and structured transitions, this is a masterclass in building legacy. Real African case studies, like GIG Motors and Bidco Africa, reveal what works and what fails. Whether you're a founder looking to pass the baton, or a next-gen leader stepping up, this episode offers timeless strategies to future-proof your family enterprise. #FamilyBusiness #SuccessionPlanning #AfricanEntrepreneurs #BusinessLegacy #LeadershipMatters #EntrepreneurshipInAfrica #NextGenLeaders #BuildToLast #BusinessGovernance #DOAEpodcast

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Over the last couple of weeks, I've read a lot of posts on here arguing that the VC model doesn't work for Africa. I fully understand the sentiments behind this argument; however, I disagree with the premise that VC needs to be redesigned for Africa. Venture Capital is Venture Capital. It is an extremely niche form of private investment. While it has become quite popular recently, it's a funding model that's primarily designed to fund outliers that drive outsized returns. It is not designed to fund simply profitable businesses or even successful businesses that make millions. It is designed to fund businesses that radically change how we live and make investors a lot of money in the process. Venture-scale outcomes seem unattainable and ridiculous BY DESIGN. It is a feature, not a bug. Venture Capital was designed to fund what I'll refer to here as 'stupid ideas' that are inherently risky. To many observers, it does not make sense to fund these types of businesses. You need to be almost prescient. However, when it works out, it works really well. Think: investing in a site for college students to connect in 2004 and seeing it go public for about $100 billion in 2012. VC fund terms, the fund structure, and fund incentives are all intentionally designed. It's not perfect, and there's room for improvement, especially as companies stay private for much longer, but that's not the topic of this post. It is just a FUNDING MODEL. The same way private equity, hedge funds, etc, exist. Venture Capital is not going to stop being Venture Capital because of Africa's wicked problems and the many infrastructure and finance gaps that exist. Nor should it. It hasn't had to shapeshift to work in other contexts. What Africa needs are new models for PRIVATE INVESTMENT. Venture Capital is a type of private investment designed for a specific use case. If the argument is that VC specifically does not work for Africa,(and the jury is still out on that, my opinion is that it is still too early to make any definitive conclusions) then maybe we need to do what the Americans did back in '46 after World War 2, with an economy that had taken huge hits and DESIGN, private investment models that work for our specific contexts, use cases and goals. Venture Capital will not save Africa. It is just an asset class. It is not the villain either. Yes, it does not work perfectly for some contexts, and it will not solve all our problems because we are trying to make it solve problems it was never designed to solve. Venture Capital cannot be the backbone of any economy; it's the icing on the cake, driving value that cannot be generated elsewhere. The real economy is built on the back of smart private investment models, designed for liquidity and attainability, that can help profitable businesses succeed. Africa needs to design what works for her. If you’d like to learn more about how VC actually REALLY works, subscribe to vclikeabc.com First post is coming up soon. 

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