Innovate Africa, an angel investment fund, has raised $2.5 million to support up to 20 businesses in its first year using purpose-driven technology to combat poverty, unemployment, and insecurity.
Backed by an extensive ecosystem of resources, the fund’s objective is to assist founders in leveraging creative problem-solving to unlock growth.
Innovative Founders
Co-founded by Christian Idiodi, founder of Firtsi and Work Nigeria, is a product expert and partner at the Silicon Valley Product Group. He helps companies create products customers love and co-authored books like INSPIRED, EMPOWERED, LOVED, and TRANSFORMED.
Kristin Wilson, Managing Partner at Bold Angel Fund, manages a portfolio of 34 African startups, including 26 technology, 6 healthcare, and 2 agriculture startups. Wilson also serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Spurt!, Venture Partner at Oui Capital, Investment Lead for the Rising Tide Africa Angel Network, and General Partner at Bold Angel Fund.
Empowering Entrepreneurs
The Innovate Africa Fund aims to bridge this gap by providing insight-driven capital that accelerates the journey from Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to Product-Market Fit (PMF). The investment landscape in Africa has been growing positively since 2019. The declared exits have exceeded $2.3 billion, or 13.4% of the $17.2 billion raised by African entrepreneurs
Innovate Africa provides a comprehensive assistance package with an average investment of $50,000 that is intended to help potential entrepreneurs achieve success. This guarantees a strong basis for growth and includes professional advice in public relations, strategy, finance, and governance.
Through vital product development support, the fund’s Product Leadership Accelerator helps entrepreneurs hone their offers and reach PMF. Additionally, it makes talent sourcing easier by linking entrepreneurs with highly qualified individuals in a range of industries through a vast partner network.
First-cheque funding, an improved product operating model, beneficial networks and collaborations, support for iterative revenue model development, and thorough operations and governance advisory are all part of the fund’s portfolio approach. Through the provision of resources, relationships, and tools necessary to successfully negotiate early-stage obstacles and achieve sustainable growth, this all-encompassing approach seeks to expedite the paths of startups toward success
Kristin Wilson said, “Having witnessed the struggles that early-stage African founders face up close, we know that brilliant ideas often lack the resources they need to thrive. It’s not just about funding; it’s about deep expertise and strong connections. Our investment strategy breaks the cycle of innovators being at the mercy of those with too much leverage and too little knowledge. As a founder-first catalyst fund, we provide insight-driven capital to help founders accelerate their journey from MVP to PMF. By providing this support and funding, innovators can focus on building sustainable, transformative businesses that solve significant problems and return value to investors.”
Christian Idiodi added, “Through the Innovate ecosystem, we connect our portfolio companies with seasoned operators and advisors, both in Africa and globally, to ensure they get the expertise they need. The African diaspora has sent over $150 billion back to the continent in the past three years, but financial support alone isn’t enough. Many are eager to contribute their talent and expertise to impactful ventures, and that’s where we come in. It takes an ecosystem to build a startup. By reaching founders at a very early stage, we can connect them to key partners and help foster their success. Ultimately, our decisions today will shape who builds, owns, and benefits from the next wave of disruptive technology in emerging markets.”
Applications are now open for founders across Africa who meet six criteria, and interested individuals can apply through their website: (https://innovateafricafund.com/).
