Innovate Africa, an early-stage angel investment fund, has launched with an initial $2.5 million rollout to support up to 20 startups in its first year to solve complex, recognised problems such as insecurity, unemployment, and poverty with purpose-driven technology.
Co-founded by Kristin Wilson and Christian Idiodi, the sector-agnostic fund will invest an average investment of $50,000 into each startup plus a comprehensive support package in finance, governance, public relations, and strategy, ensuring a solid foundation for growth.
Kristin Wilson, Managing Partner of Innovate Africa Fund who witnessed the struggles that early-stage African founders face as a founder herself, the launch of the fund is not just about funding but about deep expertise and strong connections.
“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 their efforts on building sustainable, transformative businesses that solve wicked problems and return value to investors”
Since 2019, the African funding landscape has witnessed positive growth, with disclosed exits surpassing $2.3 billion – representing a significant 13.4% of the total $17.2 billion raised by African startups. Despite this growth, early-stage founders face challenges navigating the path from ideation to market fit. Innovate Africa Fun aims to help curb the persistent lack of early-stage funding and the needed insights to help founders accelerate the journey from Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to Product-Market Fit (PMF).
Innovate Africa Fund is anchored by a network of experienced operators and product specialists across Africa, providing a vigorous foundation of knowledge and experience to guide early-stage founders towards success. Managing Partner, Kristin is also the Chief Strategy Officer at Spurt!, a Venture Partner at Oui Capital, an Investment Lead for the Rising Tide Africa Angel Network and a General Partner at the Bold Angel Fund. She has a portfolio of 34 African startups including 26 tech startups such as Hoaq, Clafiya, Shuttlers and OmniRetail.
Kristin’s portfolio companies have generated over $100m in revenue and collectively serve over 100,000 users. Her partner, Christian, is the founder of Firtsi and Work Nigeria and also a partner at the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG), and helps companies transform the way they work to create products customers love and brings immense value to the business. He is co-author of INSPIRED, EMPOWERED, LOVED and TRANSFORMED–New York Times Best-Selling books and has shaped companies like Amazon and Merrill Corporation, and tackled complex product challenges for industry giants like Microsoft, Interswitch, and Squarespace.
Innovate Africa Fuund will also connect its portfolio companies with seasoned operators and advisors, both in Africa and globally, to ensure they get the expertise they need. Innovate Founders will have access to the Product Leadership Accelerator, Pan-African Product Tours, InspireAfrica Gatherings, and Silicon Valley Product Group Coaching Programs.
“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,” said Christian Idiodi, Founder of Innovate Africa Foundation.
Applications are open for founders across Africa via https://innovateafricafund.com/