Madica Ventures Backs Five Startups Across Underserved African Markets

Venture capital firm Madica has announced its latest investments in five startups spanning Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt and beyond. These bets target sectors and geographies often overlooked by traditional African tech investors.

Talenteo, a human resources platform from Algeria, and Paysika, a digital bank for consumers and SMEs based in Cameroon, are among the recipients of Madica’s pre-seed funding – the earliest institutional investment a company can receive. Other portfolio additions include ChipMango (Nigeria), which designs semiconductors; Delta Oil (Egypt), focused on renewable fuel feedstock; and Bekia (also Egypt), facilitating waste recycling.

These investments reflect Madica’s broader thesis of catalysing capital into underfunded markets and founder profiles. According to Emmanuel Adegboye, who leads the firm: “We’ve been very impressed with founders…who are solving huge pain points but limited by access to funding compared to their counterparts in the Big 4 markets.”

The timing comes as African startup funding remains below its 2021-2022 peak. Madica has responded by strengthening co-investment networks and emphasizing founder support through mentorship, regular updates and targeted programming.

Notably, Madica is actively addressing gender gaps in venture capital, aiming for at least half of its portfolio companies to include a female co-founder – a target they’ve consistently exceeded so far. The firm provides each startup with up to $200,000 and 18 months of support through a remote-first model complemented by twice-yearly in-person gatherings.

The next cohort meeting will take place in Cape Town in November, coinciding with the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit, where these founders will connect with potential partners and investors as they build their businesses in some of Africa’s most challenging funding environments.