Mara Group, Startupbootcamp Plan $250M Fund for African Tech Startups
TLDR
- Tech accelerator Startupbootcamp, Mara Group, and Blend Financial Services announce $250 million fund for investing in African tech startups.
- Fund to focus on supporting startup hubs in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Egypt.
- British-East African tycoon, Ashish Thakkar, aims to target startup funding rounds and pre-IPO stages with fund expecting additional support for investments within six months.
Tech accelerator Startupbootcamp, Ashish Thakkar’s Mara Group, and Blend Financial Services have announced plans to establish a $250 million fund aimed at investing in African technology startups. The fund, signed at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, will focus on supporting startup hubs in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Egypt.
Thakkar, a British-East African tycoon and co-founder of Atlas Mara Ltd., stated that the fund, targeting startup funding rounds and pre-IPO stages, expects to secure additional support from development institutions and begin investments within the next six months.
Africa's fast-growing, young population is increasingly leveraging technology to address infrastructure gaps, fueling the rise of tech hubs in cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Nairobi. Startupbootcamp, a global accelerator network, brings a €5.6 billion portfolio to the partnership.
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Key Takeaways
This $250 million fund highlights growing investor interest in African tech ecosystems, as the continent's youthful population and digital adoption rates drive demand for innovative solutions. Thakkar, who has actively invested as an angel investor, noted that the scale of this fund will help create a structured platform for African tech funding. In addition to startup rounds, the venture aims to extend its scope to early and late-stage investments over time. Thakkar’s Mara Group, with its deep roots in African markets, along with Startupbootcamp’s global accelerator network, provides African entrepreneurs with critical capital and support.
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