TLcom Capital, a venture capital firm focused on Africa’s smart and innovative startups, has announced the first close of its second pan-African tech fund, which will invest in 20 African seed and series A startups.
TLCom Capital focuses on fintech, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, education, and e-commerce, but is open to investing in web3, crypto, and Defi firms, as well as other industries that feature African startups competing in the same field as other regions.
The initial close of $70,000,000 is roughly the same as TLcom Capital’s first fund, the TIDE Africa Fund, which had its first close in 2017 and final close in February 2020.
Andela, Ajua, Autochek, Ilara Health, Kobo360, Okra, Pula, Shara, Terragon Group, Twiga, and uLesson were among the 11 African firms that TLcom Capital was able to invest in after raising $71 million in the TIDE Africa Fund in 2020.
The average investment per company made by TLcom Capital is roughly $6 million, but this value varies depending on the investments made in its portfolio companies.
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TLCom’s first African investment was in Andela’s $40 million Series C.
This was before TLcom’s first fund closed in 2020, and it’s the most recent stage in which it invested; Twiga’s $20 million Series B in 2019 is another.
TLCom Capital plans to add an additional 20 early-stage firms to its portfolio in the near future, with investments ranging from $500,000 to $15,000,000.
TLcom Capital has invested in 12 firms so far, all of them are based in Nigeria or Kenya.
With the new fund, the venture capital firm will expand its focus to Egypt while also making more investments in East and West Africa.
