Founders Factory Africa, the Johannesburg, South Africa-based venture development and investment company has invested in three more African tech startups to take its portfolio past the 25 mark. Originally launched in London in 2015 and has already built more than 70 startups, Founders Factory launched African operations in Johannesburg in 2018, from where it plans to design, build and scale 140 disruptive tech startups across Africa.
Founders Factory brought its model to Africa in partnership with Standard Bank, and subsequently secured backing from Netcare to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to build and scale e-health startups across Africa and Small Foundation to invest in agri-tech.
Working with Standard Bank and Netcare, Founders Factory Africa has invested in three more startups, taking its total portfolio size past the 25 mark. The latest funded startups are Kenya’s Wazi, a digital mental health company connecting people to affordable, high-quality services; Uganda’s Asaak, an asset financing company that provides credit by lending motorcycles, fuel and smartphones to drivers; and South Africa’s Revix, a fintech platform that makes investing in cryptocurrencies simple, engaging and automated.
The three new portfolio companies will join Founders Factory Africa’s Venture Scale programme, which gives promising African startups the opportunity for rapid scale across the continent and beyond. This is made possible through an investment of US$300,000 in cash and tailored support services across product development, UX/UI, data science, engineering, business development and growth marketing.
“The three businesses joining the Venture Scale programme represent some of the best of African entrepreneurship and innovation. We’re incredibly excited to be part of the growth of these businesses and to deliver their true scale potential,” said Roo Rogers, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Founders Factory Africa.