LoftyInc Capital has reached the first close of its third and largest fund, LoftyInc Alpha, which aims to support late-seed and Series A startups across Africa. The venture capital firm, known for backing companies like Flutterwave, Moove, Reliance Health, TalentQL, OmniRetail, and Thndr, is positioning itself to fill a critical funding gap as African startups struggle to scale beyond early-stage investments.
The Alpha Fund has secured investment from key development finance institutions, including Proparco, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Dutch development bank FMO, AfricaGrow, and First Close Partners. Other limited partners include Anava Funds of Funds, Egypt’s MSMEDA, European family offices, and African high-net-worth individuals.
Farid Fezoua, IFC’s Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, highlighted the fund’s potential to strengthen Africa’s venture capital ecosystem and attract later-stage investors to underserved markets like Francophone Africa.
LoftyInc, which previously focused on pre-seed and seed-stage investments, is adapting its strategy to help startups navigate the difficult transition to Series A. “At pre-seed and seed, there’s a lot of hype, but by Series A, investors ask very different questions. Our goal is to come in at seed, but our mandate is to help you get to Series A,” said Idris Ayodeji Bello, LoftyInc’s Founder and Managing Partner.
The firm’s shift comes amid a global venture capital slowdown, which has also affected African startups. By focusing on this stage, LoftyInc aims to position itself for faster exits to Series A investors like TLCom and Partech. It has already exited 14 early investments, including Flutterwave, Appruve, and Reliance Health.
With over 200 early-stage investments under its belt, LoftyInc has strengthened its leadership team by adding Mariam Kamel and Kevin Simmons as general partners. Meanwhile, Marsha Wulff and Michael Oluwagbemi will continue managing its previous fund.
Having started in Nigeria, LoftyInc has gradually expanded its investment scope to a pan-African approach. At least 30% of the new fund will be deployed in East Africa, North Africa, and Francophone Africa, where it has already backed startups like Ejara, Chefaa, and Gahez Market. The fund remains sector-agnostic, with a focus on healthtech, retail, deep tech, and artificial intelligence.
