Introduction to our VC's from the Microsoft and Nvidia MENA GenAI Acceleration Programme
Typical criteria for deals:
· African seed-stage and pre-Series A B2B and B2B2C tech start-ups that are post-MVP, with annual turnover typically between $100k and $1m, growing at 10%+ monthly. Exceptions may be made for startups with transformational tech/IP that are pre-revenue or don’t have revenues that meet the criteria above..
· Highly scalable tech-based solutions that have a clear, addressable market in Africa first, and eventually globally.
· Sustainable business models with high-growth potential and multiple revenue streams.
· Proven early successes demonstrated by a combination of one or more of the below:
o Successful graduation from world–class accelerators and incubators like Startupbootcamp, Y-Combinator, Techstars, 500 Startups, MEST, Google LaunchPad, Founders Factory, Seedcamp, Village Capital, etc.
o First signed PoCs, pilots or recurring revenues from large corporate clients, especially in the banking, insurance, retail, media and telco industries.
o Early-stage direct pipeline referrals from top Africa-focused VC funds that typically invest only at the Series A & B stage.
· Dedicated and professional management teams (we prefer ventures with more than one founder) with the right values aligned with the objectives of our Fund.
· Incorporated in an investor-friendly jurisdiction like the US, UK, and Singapore while maintaining 100% ownership of African subsidiaries.
· Ready for a $3-5M+ Series A within 12-24 months.
Our check size ranges from $200k to $500k depending on the stage of the business. Our typical ‘entry’ valuation ranges from 5x to 10x Net ARR. ARR is usually calculated as either 12x last month’s Net Revenue or 4x the last 3 months’ Net Revenue.
We are a sector- and market-agnostic pan-African investor, backing companies from pre-Seed to Series B. While we invest across all these stages, our core focus is at the Seed and Series A levels, where we typically lead rounds. As lead investors, we take a conviction-led approach, which means we invest the time to deeply understand the opportunity before committing. Our conviction-building process varies depending on the stage, team, and sector, but is always rooted in first principles.
We ask fundamental questions such as:
(1) how large is the addressable market,
(2) what is your defensible advantage – whether cost or value-based, and
(3) how do you plan to scale that advantage into meaningful value creation.
From Visionaries to Legends
We invest early and boldly-primarily at the pre-Seed and Seed stages—with a strong preference for valuation caps below $10M. While this is our typical sweet spot, every opportunity is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
As one of the most active venture capital firms globally, we’re on a mission to back exceptional founders building the future.
Our Edge
Shorter Sales Cycles
We open direct access to decision-makers. By removing internal red tape and guesswork, startups dramatically reduce customer acquisition costs and accelerate deal velocity.
Global Scale, Fast
With teams across key international markets, we support rapid expansion—helping startups go from local traction to global presence in record time.
Milestone-Driven Traction
Our support is tailored to help founders hit critical next milestones—whether it’s demonstrating product-market fit, validating demand, or building repeatable sales—laying a foundation for sustainable growth.
Looking to Invest?
We partner with over 300 of the world’s leading venture capital firms and corporate investors to identify, fund, and grow the best early-stage startups.
We co-invest in funding rounds, support portfolio development, and connect our partners with high-potential founders and global innovation platforms.
Sanari’s latest fund, the Sanari 3S Growth Fund (3SG), has R1.45 billion (approximately USD 80 million) in committed capital. It is a 2X Challenge-eligible fund with a strong gender-lens investing (GLI) focus and is aligned with South Africa’s B-BBEE transformation objectives. The investment team is 66% women and majority black, with over 55 years of combined experience in the mid-market private equity space.
Sanari targets mid-sized businesses with enterprise values between R75 million and R2 billion and makes equity investments typically ranging from R50 million to R250 million. The firm looks for well-established companies with at least three years of operating history and a clear commercial rollout strategy—typically post-product-market fit. Investments are primarily based in South Africa (80%) with up to 20% in the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on businesses with potential for regional or global expansion.
The firm has a strict mandate, excluding investments in seed-stage companies, real estate, mining, primary agriculture, fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, gambling, and other industries listed under the IFC exclusion list. It prefers transactions where it can take control or exert significant influence, including board representation and key governance rights.
Sanari’s sector themes include:
“All Connected”: Technology, ICT, IoT, automation, and software
“Data is the New Gold”: AI, machine learning, analytics, and data platforms
“Education is the Most Powerful Weapon”: EdTech, schools, and skills development
“In Sickness and In Health”: Healthcare, MedTech, wellness, agribusiness
“There is No Plan B”: Green solutions and circular economy businesses
The firm’s “3S” approach—building Sustainable, Scalable, and Saleable businesses—ensures a long-term, human-centric strategy to value creation. Sanari supports its portfolio companies with deep operational and financial expertise, change management capabilities, and internationalisation strategies.
Portfolio highlights include investments in companies such as:
LightWare (LiDAR sensors for autonomous systems),
Edulife Group (accessible education solutions),
iiDENTIFii (biometric authentication technology),
Energenic (energy efficiency solutions),
Fernridge (location-based data and analytics),
JAYCOR (connectivity infrastructure),
and Sensor Networks (IoT for insurance and energy-saving smart homes).
If your business is founder- or family-led, is at a growth inflection point, has R50 million+ in revenue, and aligns with Sanari’s focus on inclusive growth and technology-driven solutions, Sanari could be your ideal partner for sustainable expansion.
To learn more about our investment criteria and opportunities, click here to read the full overview.
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures is a $60 million pan-African venture capital firm investing in tech-enabled, growth-stage companies. We provide not only capital but also operational expertise through our local resources via a joint venture with Verod Capital, and opportunities for exit through our affiliation with Japan, primarily through our LPs, which are mostly Japanese companies.
VKAV’s Investment Thesis
At Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), our investment thesis is driven by a commitment to support tech-enabled, growth-stage companies that are solving Africa’s most pressing challenges. We focus on three core areas: Inefficiency Solvers, Homegrown Innovation, and Infrastructure. Our sector-agnostic approach allows us to back exceptional founders and ideas, fostering a diverse and dynamic portfolio.
We provide not only capital but also operational expertise, leveraging our extensive networks to create strategic partnerships and facilitate successful exits. By focusing on these key themes, we aim to drive sustainable growth and transformative impact across the African continent. Our goal is to empower visionary leaders and innovative companies, ensuring they have the resources and support needed to thrive and reshape industries.
What We Invest In
- Infrastructure
Tech-enabled infrastructure to fill the gap for pain points
- Gaps in “traditional” infrastructure .e.g. banking, logistics, insurance
- Gaps in the provision of what should be public goods e.g. education, ambulance services
- Addressing “diseconomies” of scale / barriers to scaling
- Inefficiency Solver
Innovations to solve the inefficiencies for existing African industries/businesses
- Fragmentation and disaggregated markets e.g in supply chains and markets
- Unaffordable or context inappropriate solutions e.g. diagnostics, route to consumer, bridging gaps in the “informal” economy
- Home-grown Innovation
Home-grown innovation catering to emerging African lifestyles and consumption trends
- Increasing demand for local content
- Growing and diverse consumer base with new needs that are not being served
- Import substitution opportunity
Africa Bridge Fund is a pan-African initiative designed to support high-potential AI and deep tech start-ups with a focus on long-term systemic impact. The fund bridges global networks and capital with African innovation to help tech ventures scale successfully.
Why It Matters for ISVs:
Global Access: Leverage Africa Bridge Fund’s connections to international markets and investors.
Deep Tech Focus: Ideal for ISVs working in AI, biotech, medtech, climate tech, and connectivity solutions.
Full Lifecycle Support: The FACE model (Fund, Advise, Connect, Empower) supports startups from early-stage funding to investor readiness and growth.
What They Invest In:
Health Tech – Medtech, biotech, data, insurance, regulation
Climate Tech – Carbon, risk management, mitigation, data
Enablement Tech – Connectivity, education, jobs, pay-as-you-go, payments
Core Team:
Africa Bridge is led by a seasoned team with global VC, tech, finance, legal, and marketing experience from organisations such as Microsoft, UBS, Investec, Prescient, and Virgin.
Key Values for ISVs:
Structured Deal Support
Investor Readiness
Ecosystem Reinvestment
Strategic Global Networks
About
Stadia Capital is a boutique corporate finance advisory firm that specializes in raising growth capital for enterprises across Africa. Founded in 2014, the firm has raised over $500 million for companies across Sub-Saharan Africa and built a reputation as a trusted partner for both entrepreneurs and investors. Stadia provides strategic advisory, investor readiness, and capital-raising services, connecting commercially viable, impact-driven businesses with a deep network of local and international investors.
Investment Focus
Stadia Capital is sector-agnostic, working with high-potential and impact-oriented businesses across Africa. Their experience spans multiple industries, including:
- Climate and Circular Economy
- Agribusiness
- Digital Infrastructure and Connectivity
- Health Tech and MedTech
- Education and EdTech
- Technology-Enabled Applications for Africa
The firm focuses on businesses that are commercially viable, scalable, and growth-ready, helping them meet investor expectations and access suitable funding structures.
Capital Raise Criteria
- Typical raise range: $5 million to $35 million, with the capacity to facilitate larger raises for infrastructure projects.
- Stage: Growth and expansion stages, with selective support for earlier-stage opportunities.
- Capital types: Equity, debt, and mezzanine financing.
- Approach: Stadia ensures that each company has a robust growth strategy, optimized capital structure, and strong investor alignment before entering the market.
Value Proposition
Stadia Capital goes beyond transactional support by offering a hands-on, relationship-driven approach. Their process prepares clients to navigate the investment landscape confidently through:
- Investor Readiness: Comprehensive support to align business strategy and financials with investor expectations.
- Financial Modelling & Valuation: Clear, data-backed presentations of growth potential and value.
- Capital Advisory: Structuring optimal funding mixes and preparing compelling investment cases.
- Strategic Advisory & M&A: Guidance on acquisitions, disposals, and expansion planning.
They also collaborate with major development and corporate partners such as Microsoft, USTDA, Shell Foundation, and Africa50, providing advisory and investor readiness support to their portfolio and grantee companies.
Network & Reach
Stadia Capital has an extensive investor network spanning private equity and venture capital funds, family offices, multinational corporations, and institutional investors across Africa and internationally.
- Footprint: Active in 16 African countries, serving clients across 4 continents.
- Capital Raised: $500+ million to date.
- Offices: Cape Town, Harare, Nairobi, and London.
Team
Led by Rob Henley, Stadia’s team combines homegrown African expertise with global financial experience. The team brings decades of experience in capital markets, M&A, investor readiness, and corporate finance, positioning them as a strategic partner for both entrepreneurs and investors seeking to engage with Africa’s growth markets.
Ideal Fit
Stadia Capital is the right partner for:
- African entrepreneurs seeking growth or expansion capital.
- Impact-led and commercially viable businesses with strong leadership teams.
- Investors and institutions seeking to back African ventures with credible advisory and due diligence support.
Empowering Growth through AI & Education
Meska AI is an Egypt-based artificial intelligence education and solutions company focused on empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in the age of intelligent technology. By integrating education, consultation, and implementation under one ecosystem, Meska AI bridges the gap between learning and real-world application, helping partners adopt, scale, and lead with AI.
Meska AI combines AI education, strategic consulting, and applied innovation to enable both human and business transformation. Its core philosophy revolves around accessibility, practical learning, and long-term capability building. The company’s offerings are backed by partnerships with global technology leaders such as Microsoft, ensuring that every solution and learning path aligns with the latest industry standards.
Meska AI operates at the intersection of AI enablement and workforce transformation, serving as both a talent accelerator and an implementation partner for enterprises aiming to integrate AI solutions responsibly and effectively.
Core Offerings
AI Academy
Structured programs and corporate diplomas designed to equip individuals and teams with practical, industry-relevant AI skills. Focus areas include machine learning and data analytics fundamentals, generative AI tools and automation, applied AI for business innovation, and responsible and ethical AI deployment.
AI Consultation & Implementation
Strategic advisory and implementation services for companies adopting AI. Meska supports clients from ideation to deployment, offering AI readiness assessments, proof-of-concept development, integration with business workflows, and optimization or scaling of existing AI systems.
Corporate Training & Executive Upskilling
Customized training programs for organizations aiming to build AI fluency across leadership and technical teams.
Events & Retreats
Immersive experiences and workshops such as the Meska AI Retreat in Nuweibaa and the AI Stage at SheCan 2025, combining professional learning with strategic networking opportunities.
Content & Media through AI Voice Platform
Original AI-focused content and digital education assets designed to demystify AI concepts and make knowledge accessible to diverse audiences.
Target Market
Meska AI serves enterprises seeking AI adoption, workforce reskilling, and innovation strategy; professionals and students aiming to gain practical AI skills; and public or private sector institutions looking to integrate AI training and implementation programs into national or organizational transformation agendas.
Differentiators
End-to-end AI ecosystem covering learning, strategy, and deployment under one brand. Trusted partnerships with top global technology providers, including Microsoft. A human-centered approach focused on education and ethical integration of AI for sustainable impact. Regional leadership as one of the few AI education and consulting companies based in Egypt with growing pan-African visibility.
Growth & Impact Vision
Meska AI’s mission is to democratize access to AI knowledge and innovation in Africa and the Middle East, enabling inclusive digital transformation. The company is expanding its regional footprint through strategic partnerships, academic collaborations, and enterprise consulting projects, aiming to become a regional leader in AI talent development and adoption.
Ideal Partnership Opportunities
Meska AI is an ideal partner for corporate innovation programs seeking to integrate AI training and solutions, investors focused on the intersection of education, technology, and digital transformation, governments and institutions supporting workforce readiness and AI policy implementation, and ISVs or solution providers looking to extend their AI offerings through co-branded education and implementation initiatives.
Representative Engagements
SheCan 2025 (Creativa Giza, Egypt): AI content partner managing the AI stage.
Meska AI Retreat (Nuweibaa 2025): A flagship learning experience combining training, mentorship, and networking.
Upcoming: Future of AI Innovation Summit (Virtual): Industry-wide engagement on AI adoption in business strategy.
Key Metrics & Readiness
Stage: Growth and regional expansion.
Model: Hybrid B2B and B2C (corporate partnerships, education programs, and consulting).
Sectors: AI education, workforce transformation, AI consulting, and digital enablement.
Investment Fit: Strategic or impact investors focused on AI, EdTech, and digital transformation ecosystems.
Vision: To equip over 100,000 learners and 1,000 businesses across Africa and MENA with practical AI skills and deployment frameworks by 2030.
Empowering High-Impact Entrepreneurs
Endeavor Egypt is part of the global Endeavor network, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and investing in high-impact entrepreneurs. These are founders who dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward, transforming local economies and creating a multiplier effect of growth and innovation.
Endeavor operates on the belief that high-impact entrepreneurs are the driving force behind sustainable economic development. Through tailored support, strategic mentorship, and access to a global network of investors and peers, Endeavor enables entrepreneurs to unlock their potential, expand internationally, and inspire new generations of founders.
Mission and Approach
Endeavor Egypt identifies and selects the country’s fastest-growing, highest-potential entrepreneurs through its renowned international selection process. Once selected, these founders gain access to mentorship, strategic connections, and investment opportunities through Endeavor’s global platform. The organization’s mission is to build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems across emerging and underserved markets by inspiring founders to think bigger, scale faster, and reinvest their knowledge and resources into the ecosystem.
Impact in Egypt
Since its establishment 15 years ago, Endeavor Egypt has supported over 100 high-impact entrepreneurs across multiple sectors. Together, these entrepreneurs generated over $1 billion in revenues in 2024, created more than 200,000 jobs since selection, and raised over $190 million in capital, representing approximately 66% of all capital raised in Egypt that year.
Endeavor’s network in Egypt includes leading founders such as Mounir Nakhla (MNT-Halan), Mohamed Azab (Grinta), Ayman Essawy (Lucky Financial), and Belal El Megharbel (MaxAB), among others.
Key Activities and Programs
Endeavor Egypt runs a range of initiatives to strengthen its entrepreneurial community, including:
XceleRise Scale-Up Program – supporting market expansion into Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Investor Networking and Catalyst Events – connecting entrepreneurs and investors through exclusive gatherings such as the Endeavor Catalyst Networking Dinner.
Thought Leadership and Webinars – featuring global leaders like Allen Taylor, Managing Partner at Endeavor Catalyst, to discuss the future of venture capital in Egypt and the MENA region.
Board and Ecosystem Engagement – ongoing leadership initiatives, including new appointments such as Board Chairman Mohamed Azab and Board Members Salah Tawfik and Mohamed Farouk.
Global Network and Reach
Endeavor operates in 42 markets worldwide, providing entrepreneurs with access to a vast global network of mentors, investors, and peers. Its investment arm, Endeavor Catalyst, supports scale-up companies across regions, including Egypt and the broader MENA ecosystem.
Core Belief
Sustainable economies depend on high-impact entrepreneurship. As stated by Endeavor’s global leadership, “What Endeavor does better than any other organization is create entire cultures of entrepreneurship that spread within and between countries.”
Founded by Linda Rottenberg and supported by partners such as Reid Hoffman, Endeavor continues to shape global entrepreneurial ecosystems through trust, mentorship, and long-term partnership with founders.
Enza Capital
Backing Category-Defining Founders Across Africa
Enza Capital is a multi-stage venture capital firm investing in founders and teams using technology to solve large and meaningful problems across Africa. The firm backs companies digitizing key industries and transforming how Africans live, earn, and do business.
Investment Thesis
Enza Capital focuses on opportunities where technology is core to solving commercial and scalable challenges across the continent. With tailwinds such as population growth, rising internet use, and improving infrastructure, the firm sees significant potential in building Africa’s digital rails for the future.
Stage & Ticket Size
Enza invests from pre-seed to Series B, with initial checks ranging from $250k to $5m (sweet spot: $500k–$2m). Its Growth Capital vehicle can invest up to $20m per company, supporting scale and long-term growth.
Sector Focus
Fintech, logistics and mobility, health tech, human capital, education, and climate-smart solutions.
Investment Approach
Enza typically leads or co-leads rounds, working collaboratively with other investors. The firm maintains a clear follow-on strategy and takes board or observer roles where it leads investments.
Geographic Reach
Active across Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and beyond, with offices in Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg, London, and New York.
Representative Portfolio
Includes SeamlessHR, Autochek, Peach Payments, Djamo, Jumba, Shara, Cloudline, Turaco, and Craydel, among others—each driving innovation and impact across the continent.
Mission
To build, create, and empower Africa’s next generation of technology leaders.