With its new fund, TLcom Capital plans to deploy additional capital into female-founded African tech startups, building on the firm’s June 2022 co-investment commitment of $2 million to FirstCheck Africa, a female-focused pre-seed fund.
TLcom Capital, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, has announced the final close of TIDE Africa Fund II, its second fund for technology in Africa, at $154 million.
With participation from LPs like European Investment Bank (EIB), Allianz, DEG Impact’s AfricaGrow, Visa Foundation, and Bertelsmann, the TIDE Africa Fund II marks TLcom Capital, known as Africa’s largest Seed and Series A tech investor.
The fund will reportedly maintain its early-stage, multi-sector focus and expand into Egypt, making initial investments of $1 million to $3 million.
“Egypt is a very attractive large market in Africa capable of generating unicorns in the years ahead,” notes Maurizio Caio, Founder and Managing Partner at TLcom Capital, to FORBES AFRICA.
“Our investment strategy is the same in Egypt as anywhere else – partnering with entrepreneurs who create massive value by leveraging technology to serve significant African markets,” affirms Caio.
TLcom’s early-stage portfolio includes uLesson, Autochek, Pula, Fairmoney, and Andela, one of Africa’s six unicorn companies.
“We partner with founders who tackle massive opportunities with winning strategies,” says Caio.
“Ideally, each of our investments should classify as a fund returner, meaning they hold the potential to return the value of our entire fund from the proceeds of their exit.”