AfDB to invest €10 million in Africa Tech Sector

The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Board of Directors has approved a €9.8 million equity investment to promote venture capital investments in African start-ups from seed to growth stages.

The African Development Bank will contribute €7 million from its own resources, while the European Union (EU) will contribute €2.8 million through a collaboration with the Organization of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

Cathay-AfricInvest Innovation Fund’s goal of raising €110 million to invest in over 20 early-stage enterprises across Sub-Saharan Africa will be met thanks to this investment.

Financial inclusion (financial technology and insurance technology), retail and logistics platforms targeting online and mobile users, healthcare technologies, and pay-as-you-go, off-grid energy solutions are among the areas where the Innovation Fund concentrates.

More recently, the Innovation Fund has broadened its scope to include start-ups that are leveraging new digital opportunities created by the Covid-19 epidemic, or that have a high potential to aid in the coronavirus’s fight.

AfricInvest Capital Partners and Cathay Innovation SAS are co-sponsoring the Mauritius-based Fund.