AFC executive director and chief investment officer, Sameh Shenouda, with Pal Erik Sjatil, managing partner and CEO of Lightrock Africa Fund at the signing ceremony.
Image: Supplied
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has unveiled a major $100 million commitment aimed at accelerating investment into Africa-focused technology fund managers, marking a significant push to deepen local participation in the continent’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
The corporation on Monday said the initiative would provide catalytic capital to leading African technology investment funds, with a strong emphasis on African-owned fund managers, as part of efforts to close the persistent financing gap facing high-growth technology businesses across the continent.
The launch comes as Africa’s digital economy is projected to contribute more than $700 billion to the continent’s GDP by 2050, fuelled by rising internet penetration, rapid technology adoption and one of the world’s youngest populations.
Despite the sector’s strong momentum, the AFC said African institutional investors remain underrepresented in the venture capital ecosystem, with the bulk of investment capital still coming from foreign sources.
Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC, said the corporation viewed technology infrastructure as central to Africa’s future economic growth.
“Across the continent, young Africans are not waiting for the digital economy to arrive; they are seizing the moment — adopting technology, creating markets and solving real economic problems faster than infrastructure has kept pace,” said Zubairu.
“That is the investment signal. AFC’s $100m Africa-focused Technology Fund will accelerate the convergence of growing demand, rapid technology adoption, youthful demographics and the enabling infrastructure we are building.”
Zubairu added that digital infrastructure had become as important to Africa’s development as roads, rail, ports and electricity generation.
“Digital infrastructure is now as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as roads, rail, ports and power — enabling productivity, payments, logistics, services, data and cross-border trade, while creating jobs and industrial scale,” he said.
Africa’s venture capital industry has grown rapidly over the past decade, producing nine unicorns and attracting billions of dollars in funding. African start-ups alone raised $3.8bn in 2025, while some fund managers generated returns of up to 128 times their original investments.
As part of the initial deployment of capital, AFC announced anchor investments into Lightrock Africa Fund II and Future Africa Fund III.
The investments are expected to support companies across the innovation cycle, ranging from early-stage start-ups to growth-stage businesses scaling across African markets.
Pal Erik Sjatil, managing partner and CEO of Lightrock, welcomed AFC’s backing, saying it reinforced confidence in Africa’s growing technology ecosystem.
“We are delighted to welcome Africa Finance Corporation as an anchor investor in Lightrock Africa II, deepening a strong partnership shaped by our collaboration on high-impact investments across Africa, including Moniepoint, Lula, and M-KOPA,” Sjatil said.
“This commitment reflects a shared conviction in the opportunity to back high-growth, technology-enabled businesses with proven business models, strong fundamentals, and clear pathways to profitability.”
Sjatil said the partnership would help scale category-leading companies capable of delivering both financial returns and measurable social impact.
Future Africa, which focuses on supporting founders building technology solutions to address African challenges, said AFC’s investment would strengthen innovation at the earliest stages of the market.
Iyin Aboyeji, founding partner at Future Africa, said Africa’s youthful population represented one of the continent’s greatest economic advantages.
“Young Africans are not waiting for the digital economy to arrive; they are already among its most active participants globally,” Aboyeji said.
“What they need now are the skills, productive assets and infrastructure to build and scale within it.”
He said investment into artificial intelligence skills, digital tools, energy infrastructure and internet connectivity would be critical in turning Africa’s population into a globally competitive workforce.
Aboyeji also described AFC’s investment as a major signal to the broader financial sector.
“As our first multilateral development bank partner, AFC is sending a clear signal that digital is as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as agriculture, manufacturing and physical infrastructure,” he said.
AFC said the $100m commitment forms part of its wider strategy to invest across integrated infrastructure systems where digital platforms complement physical infrastructure to unlock economic growth.
The corporation added that it intends to become a leading institutional investor in Africa’s technology ecosystem by leveraging its balance sheet strength, structuring expertise and pan-African network to mobilise capital at scale while driving long-term development impact across the continent.
BUSINESS REPORT