Endure Capital, an Australian firm with regional branch in Egypt has closed its first funding series aimed at financing early-stage startups across Africa.
The series tagged “Endure 21” with a target size of $50 million, has received funding from several investors, including British International Investment, which recently indicated its intention to inject funds to support the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Endure 21 aims to focus its investments primarily on impact-driven early stage startups in Africa, with a selective approach to investing in growth-stage startups globally.
It will take a sector-agnostic approach to investing in 24 start-ups, focusing on Africa while also considering global companies.
Partners who have invested in the fund include British International Investment (BII) – the UK’s Development Finance Institution and impact investor, formerly known as CDC Group; The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) – Egypt’s Social Fund for Development; and founders of different leading startups of the region.
“BII is excited to be partnering with Endure Capital, a well-embedded leading local fund manager in Egypt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. I am delighted that our partnership on Endure21 will help support the next generation of visionary entrepreneurs in Egypt, providing them with the capital to build transformative businesses that are creating innovative solutions and accelerating productive, sustainable and inclusive growth across society,” commented Abhinav Sinha, Managing Director and Head of Technology and Telecoms, British International Investment.
Hany Emad, Director and Head of the central sector for financing small projects at MSMEDA, said: “MSMEDA is proud to partner with Endure Capital to promote the Egyptian economy by supporting the entrepreneurial environment and enabling young innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Launched in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Tarek Fahim, Endure Capital has established itself as one of the leading VC firms in the region. Its first fund was one of the early institutional investors in Careem which was acquired by Uber for $3.1bn in 2019. The acquisition remains the biggest tech exit the Middle East has seen to date. The investments from Endure’s first fund also include regional B2B e-commerce leader MaxAB and Breadfast, the grocery delivery startup that has pioneered dark stores in Egypt.
