Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment programme, has committed a combined $1 million to five startups across the continent, investing $200,000 in each company as it expands its reach into Algeria and Cameroon for the first time.
The latest investments bring the programme’s portfolio to 18 companies operating across 10 African markets since Madica launched in 2022. The new deals also reinforce its focus on startups outside the continent’s four most prominent funding markets: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.
The expansion into Algeria and Cameroon is particularly notable because startups from both markets appear less frequently in major African funding announcements. Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that Madica’s latest investments reflect its strategy of identifying businesses in markets that have historically received less attention from international startup investors.
Each of the five newly backed companies will also participate in an 18-month programme designed to provide support beyond the initial capital. The package includes mentorship, executive coaching, funded immersion trips and access to Madica’s network of investors.
The latest funding round follows three investments made by Madica in April and takes the programme’s total capital deployed so far this year to $1.6 million. The additional commitments underline the programme’s continued investment activity across a wider range of African startup ecosystems.
Madica’s investment strategy centres on the view that significant startup opportunities exist beyond the markets that typically dominate Africa’s venture capital headlines. By deliberately looking beyond the continent’s established startup hubs, the programme is seeking to identify founders and companies operating in less-covered markets.
For entrepreneurs in countries such as Algeria and Cameroon, the latest investments could provide more than early-stage financing. Participation in the programme gives the selected founders access to structured mentorship, leadership development and investor networks during a period when startups typically need both capital and operational support to develop their businesses.
The expansion also broadens Madica’s geographic footprint at a time when funding discussions around African technology companies are often concentrated on a relatively small group of countries. Its latest portfolio additions bring more markets into the programme’s investment activity and demonstrate the breadth of the startup ecosystems it is targeting.
Since its launch in 2022, Madica has therefore built a portfolio spanning 18 companies in 10 markets, with its latest investments extending that approach into two countries that have so far featured less prominently in the continent’s startup funding landscape.
