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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) approved up to $100 million in investments for African technology fund managers.
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AFC made initial commitments to Lightrock Africa Fund II and Future Africa Fund III, including a planned $40 million investment in the latter.
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African tech startups raised $2.4 billion in equity financing in 2025, up 8% year-on-year, according to Partech Africa.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has launched an investment program targeting African technology funds, with initial commitments to Lightrock and Future Africa, as the institution seeks to increase the share of African institutional capital in the continent’s venture capital ecosystem.
AFC’s board of directors approved investments of up to $100 million for African technology fund managers, the institution announced on Monday, May 18.
The move marks a new phase in AFC’s strategy to expand African participation in financing technology companies across the continent. Through the initiative, AFC will support funds operating in Africa’s technology ecosystem while increasing the involvement of local institutional investors in African venture capital financing.
Initial Commitments to Two Funds
As part of the program’s first deployment phase, AFC committed capital to Lightrock through its Africa Fund II and to Future Africa through Future Africa Fund III.
The infrastructure solutions provider plans to invest $40 million in Future Africa Fund III, which focuses on companies developing technology solutions tailored to African markets.
At the same time, AFC’s commitment to Lightrock Africa II will target technology companies operating primarily in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.
African Venture Capital Gains Momentum
The $100 million commitment comes as African venture capital activity continues to expand. AFC said some fund managers on the continent have generated returns of up to 128 times invested capital.
In addition, African technology startups raised $2.4 billion in equity financing in 2025, representing an 8% increase year-on-year, according to the Partech Africa 2025 report.
At the same time, African local investors increased their presence in the venture capital market. African investors represented 30% of the entities that financed African companies through venture capital transactions in 2025, compared with 28% for North America and 25% for Europe, according to a report published on February 10, 2026 by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA).
With 188 active investors, mainly based in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya, African capital continued to strengthen its role in the continent’s venture capital industry, which counted 625 investors last year. By mobilizing capital at this scale, AFC aims to consolidate that trend and strengthen the local anchoring of technology financing across Africa.
Chamberline Moko
