eBay founder Pierre Omidyar-backed Flourish commits $6 million to as many as 30 African startups

Flourish Ventures, the US investment firm funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, has committed an additional $6 million to Madica to finance as many as 30 African startups. The new commitment will extend Madica’s early-stage investment programme for another three years.

• Flourish Ventures has committed another $6 million to African investment programme Madica.
• Madica plans to invest in between 25 and 30 additional African startups over three years.
• The programme has already backed 18 businesses across 10 African countries.
• Flourish Ventures manages approximately $850 million and is funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

Madica said⁠ it plans to invest in between 25 and 30 additional companies while providing founders with operational and company-building support.

The programme focuses on African founders operating outside the continent’s most established technology markets and investment networks.

Madica has backed 18 companies across 10 African countries and 12 sectors since it was launched in 2022.

Its portfolio includes businesses working in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate technology, semiconductors, mobility and human-resources technology.

“Three years have given us valuable lessons and encouraging early signals, but building enduring companies and assessing venture outcomes takes longer. Flourish Ventures’ continued commitment gives us the capital to build on those lessons and test our conviction across a broader portfolio while deepening our company-building support,” Madica head Emmanuel Adegboye said.

The programme said its existing companies had secured follow-on financing averaging twice Madica’s original investment.

All the businesses are majority African-owned. More than half have at least one female co-founder, while 39% are led by female chief executives.

Pierre Omidyar deepens African startup exposure

Flourish Ventures is a global early-stage investment firm focused largely on financial technology and financial services.

It manages approximately $850 million and has invested in more than 100 companies across the United States and emerging markets.

The firm says it divides its investments equally between the United States and emerging markets.

Its African portfolio includes Nigerian-founded payments company Flutterwave, which became one of the continent’s most valuable private technology businesses.

Flourish’s funding and governance are connected to Pierre Omidyar, the billionaire who founded eBay in 1995.

Omidyar and his wife, Pam, support several commercial and philanthropic investment organisations under the Omidyar Group.

Madica was established by Flourish in 2022 with an initial target of backing between 25 and 30 African founders.

The programme has received applications covering 28 sectors and 78 countries. Approximately 40% of applications have come from outside Africa’s four largest venture-capital markets: Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.

Its eligibility requirements include having a minimum viable product and some paying customers. Founders must work full-time on their companies, which must have received little or no institutional investment.

The additional $6 million will finance new pre-seed investments and extend the period over which Madica can assess whether its portfolio companies can achieve sustainable growth and profitable exits.

The commitment also represents another test of whether relatively small early-stage investments can attract larger international investors to African companies operating beyond the continent’s established technology centres.