Digital Africa Launches €50M Seed Fund to Back Startups Beyond Africa’s Big Four Tech Hubs
The French government backed initiative Digital Africa has officially launched a €50 million (about US$57 million) Seed Fund aimed at strengthening early-stage startup financing across 20 underserved African countries. Backed by Proparco, the private sector arm of Agence Française de Développement, and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the initiative is designed to address the continent’s growing early stage funding gap and expand investment beyond Africa’s traditional tech hubs.
The new fund, known as the Digital Africa Seed Fund (DASF), builds on Digital Africa’s earlier investments, which have supported more than 70 startups across 16 African countries through pre seed financing. The updated strategy aims to create a “financing continuum,” where startups can move smoothly from pre-seed to seed stage, with Proparco stepping in for Series A and later-stage funding. The DASF will offer investment tickets of up to €2 million, targeting high-potential startups operating outside the “big four” ecosystems of Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.
Sector-agnostic in approach, the fund will prioritize innovation in key areas including artificial intelligence, fintech, e-health, climate technology, space, and digital infrastructure. By focusing on underserved markets, the initiative seeks to decentralize Africa’s tech investment landscape and unlock innovation in regions that have historically received limited venture capital attention. This move is expected to play a significant role in bridging Africa’s seed-stage funding gap and strengthening the continent’s broader startup ecosystem.
