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Investor of the Week: Launch Africa Ventures

Launch Africa Ventures: Filling the Early-Stage Funding Gap Across the Continent

7/10/2025
•Yassin El Hardouz
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Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Mauritius, Launch Africa Ventures has rapidly become a linchpin in Africa’s early-stage investment landscape. The venture-capital firm was created to tackle a familiar but stubborn problem: the scarcity of capital for startups between pre-seed and Series A. In just five years, Launch Africa has positioned itself as the most active investor on the continent, underwriting more than 150 deals and carving out a reputation for hands-on venture building alongside Africa’s most ambitious founders.


A Pan-African, Stage-Agnostic Strategy

Launch Africa’s model is built on widening, not narrowing, its field of vision. The fund is explicitly geography-agnostic within Africa and sector-agnostic across the wider startup spectrum. In practical terms, that means fintechs, ed-techs, health-techs, and mobility platforms all share a cap-table with equal priority. In Fund I, typical commitments capped at $300,000. With the rollout of Fund II, initial checks are still around $250,000, but follow-on capital can scale to $1 million if pre-set KPIs are met within six to 12 months. This flexible ticket sizing, allows the firm to back vision at inception and double down once traction is proven.

A Leadership Team Rooted in Venture Building

Co-founders and Managing Partners Zachariah George and Janade du Plessis bring complementary pedigrees to the firm’s investment committee. George, a former Wall Street banker turned angel investor, has stakes in more than 100 African tech startups, including Flutterwave and Kudabank. His profile—gracing the covers of Fast Company Africa and Destiny Man—mirrors Launch Africa’s own ascent. Du Plessis, meanwhile, is a five-time fund manager whose résumé spans corporate venture capital, women-focused SME funds, and impact investing. Having visited 50 of Africa’s 54 countries, he layers geographic insight atop a PhD that probes the psychographic archetypes of African entrepreneurs. The pair’s blend of financial engineering and behavioral research informs a due-diligence process that extends far beyond spreadsheets.

Portfolio Depth and Notable Exits

High-velocity deal flow has produced a portfolio studded with some of the continent’s marquee names. Payments giant Flutterwave, mobility financier Moove, consumer fintech Djamo, and digital payments pioneer Peach Payments all count Launch Africa among their early backers. Exits, too, are beginning to stack up. Egyptian ed-tech startup Orcas was acquired in January 2024 by Kuwait-based Baims, giving the Gulf company a foothold in a MENA education market estimated at US $100 billion. Micro-lender Kashat executed an equity-swap exit with Raseedi, while Baia found a new home under The Fintex Group banner. More than ten such realizations verify Launch Africa’s thesis that disciplined early-stage bets can mature into region-wide growth stories—and deliver liquidity along the way.

Momentum in Fund II

If Fund I established proof of concept, Fund II is already amplifying scale. The vehicle has surpassed twenty investments and, in a nod to expanding global networks, welcomed former Massachusetts economic-development envoy Brittany McDonough as a Venture Partner. Her mandate: bridge relationships across the United States and Middle East, two capital pools increasingly alert to African deal flow. The addition underscores Launch Africa’s conviction that cross-border capital and expertise are pivotal to transforming home-grown startups into continental, even global, contenders.


Launch Africa Ventures entered the market to solve a funding bottleneck that once hamstrung African founders at their most vulnerable stage. Five years on, the firm’s pan-African, sector-agnostic approach—fortified by leadership steeped in finance, venture building, and behavioral insight—has unlocked growth for more than 150 startups and paved exit pathways that validate the model. As Fund II accelerates with larger follow-on checks and newly minted partnerships, Launch Africa is not merely writing early-stage tickets; it is shaping the trajectory of Africa’s next cohort of category leaders.