Africa is attracting a rising volume of venture capital but, most of the funds go to startups in a handful of countries. 

Factor[e] Ventures, a team of company builders that invests in early-stage startups in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, has launched Delta40, a startup studio specifically focused on Africa.

Per its website, Delta40’s “mission is to increase incomes and tackle climate change in Africa by building high-impact, technology-enabled energy, agriculture, and mobility ventures led by diverse, experienced founders.”

“A decade of investing in energy, agriculture, mobility, and water innovations in emerging markets has affirmed that there is a great opportunity at the formation stage to support local and diverse founders as they connect their technologies and markets,” said Factor[e] Ventures co-founder, Morgan DeFoort. 

The startup studio will invest between $100,000 and $600,000 to create and support African startups specializing in energy, agriculture, and mobility –the sectors that captured 8% of the overall VC funding attracted by Africa in 2022, according to Partech Africa.

With the launch of Delta40, Factor[e] Ventures aims to boost the volume of VC financing attracted by African startups and encourage investors to fund even more startups in the targeted sectors. In addition to providing capital, Delta40 will also act as a co-founder, offering product testing, technology brokering, early-stage commercialization, and accelerating company creation.

Delta40 has secured funding and support from several private and public institutions, including the Autodesk Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and the climate technology law firm Wilson Sonisi. The startup studio will be based in Kenya, with operations in Nigeria.               

Samira Njoya